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V 



Gardening for Pleasure. 

A GUIDE TO THE AMATEUR IN THE 

Fruit, Vegetable, and Flower Garden, 

WITH FULL DIRECTIONS FOR THE 

Greenhouse, Conservatory, and Window-Garden. 



BY 

PETER HENDERSON, 

AUTHOR OF "GARDENING FOR PROFIT, 1 ' AND "PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE,' 1 
JERSEY CITY HEIGHTS, N. J. 




NEW YORK: 

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 

245 BRO AD WAY. 



1880. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by the 
OEA^nGE judd company, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 7 

CHAPTER I. 

Soil and Location 9 

CHAPTER H. 

Drainage ■ « 10 

CHAPTER in. 

Preparation of the Ground 13 

CHAPTER IV. 

Walks 14 

CHAPTER V. 

Manures 16 

CHAPTER VL 

How to Use Concentrated Fertilizers 18 

CHAPTER VII. 

Special Fertilizers for Particular Plants 21 

CHAPTER Vm. 

The Lawn 22 

CHAPTER IX. 

Design for Garden 25 

CHAPTER X. 

Planting of Lawns and Flower-Beds 30 

CHAPTER XI. 

Fall, or Holland Bulbs 36 

CHAPTER XH. 

Propagation of Plants by Seeds 39 

CHAPTER Xm. 

Propagation of Plants by Cuttings 42 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Propagating by Layering 46 

CHAPTER XV. 

About Grafting and Budding 47 

CHAPTER XVI. 

How Grafting and Budding are Done 51 

(3) 



IT GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Treatment of Tropical Bulbs, Seeds, etc , H 57 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The PottiDg of Plants 60 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Winter Flowering Plants 62 

CHAPTER XX. 

Unhealthy Plants— The Remedy 67 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Plants Suited for Summer Decoration 69 

CHAPTER XXH. 

Hanging Baskets 72 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Window Gardening 75 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Parlor Gardening, or the Cultivation of Plants in Rooms 77 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Wardian Cases, Ferneries, Jardinieres 82 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Winter-Forcing the Lily of the Valley 84 

CHAPTER XXVn. 

Greenhouses Attached to Dwellings 87 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
A Detached Greenhouse or Grapery 90 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Heating by Hot Water 95 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Greenhouse or Pits Without Artificial Heat 98 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Combined Cellar and Greenhouse 99 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

Hot-Beds ; ... 102 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 
Shrubs, Climbers, and Trees 104 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 
Hardy Herbaceous Perennials ... 107 ^ 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

Annual Flowering Plants U2 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 
Flowers which will Grow in the Shade 114 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 
Insects s 115 



CONTENTS. V 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. ■ 
Mildew . . 120 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 
Frozen Plants 121 

CHAPTER XL. 

Mulching 122 

CHAPTER XLI. 

Are Plants in Rooms Injurious to Health 124 

CHAPTER XLII. 

Shading .125 

chapter xtjtt. 

The Law of Colors in Flowers 128 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

Pruning 133 

CHAPTER XLV. 

Hardy Grapes ...138 

CHAPTER XL VI. 

Cold Grapery 144 

CHAPTER XLVII. 

The Hot-House or Forcing Grapery 150 

CHAPTER XLVIII. 
The Strawberry 153 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

Cottage-Gardening -A Digression 175 

CHAPTER L. 

The Vegetable Garden 177 

CHAPTER LI. 

Garden Implements • 223 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 234 



INTRODUCTION. 



I have endeavored in writing " Gardening for Pleasure/' 
to divest it, as far as I was competent to do so, of the 
technical terms and phrases which professional gar- 
deners use in writing or talking on matters relating to 
horticulture ; and to use the plainest language at my 
command in describing the simplest methods of culture. 
Whether I have succeeded in making the subject as clear 
as I have desired to do, those who read the work must 
decide. 

My aim in writing the book was to make it such as 
would be useful to the occupant of a city lot, or to the 
possessor of a few window plants, as well as to the owner 
of a country residence that is fully appointed in all mat- 
ters relating to the cultivation of flowers, fruits, and 
vegetables. The necessity for such a book has been made 
evident to me by the inquiries from hundreds of ama- 
teurs in gardening ; inquiries to many of which neither 
of my previous works, ("Gardening for Profit," or 
"Practical Floriculture,") furnished proper replies ; the 
one being written mainly for information of the vegetable 
market gardener, and the other for the commercial florist. 

PETER HENDERSON. 

Jersey City, N. J., Oct., 1875. 



(7) 



Gardening for Pleasure. 



CHAPTER I. 

SOIL AND LOCATION. 

It is rare in determining the site for a residence, that 
the soil is taken into consideration, and in consequence, 
we sometimes find that the garden surrounding the 
house presents a barren appearance, that nothing can 
remedy short of the placing a foot of good soil over the 
whole surface. This condition is not so often due 
to the natural poverty of the soil, as caused by grading 
off the surface soil, or by filling up to the desired grade 
with the material thrown out in excavating the cellars, 
or other subsoil, clay, or gravelly material, and placing 
these over the soil intended for the garden. This is 
often done for the convenience of contractors, to the 
great injury of the proprietor, without either being 
aware of the bad results. As a good soil will tend more 
than all else to give satisfactory results in garden opera- 
tions, it is all important to secure it. When discretion 
can be used in deciding on a location, one should be 
chosen that has naturally a suitable soil, rather than to 
attempt to make it so by carting a foot of good soil over 
the bad, which would be found not only very expensive, 
but in many situations, next to impracticable. I have 
(9) 



10 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



before said, in some of my writings on this subject, that 
the soil best suited for all garden purposes, is what is 
known a^ " sandy loam," not less than ten inches deep, 
oyerlying a subsoil of sand or gravel. Such a soil 
rarely requires drainage, is easier worked, and gives bet- 
ter results than that known as " clayey loam," which 
overlays a putty-like subsoil of blue or yellow clay, 
which must be drained thoroughly before a seed is sown 
or plant set out, or there will be no satisfactory reward 
for the labor. The location, if choice can be made, 
should be such as will allow the garden to slope gently, 
(say one foot in a hundred), to the south or south-east, 
and if protected by hills or timber to the north-west, 
so much the better. If not protected naturally, a hedge 
of Hemlock Spruce, or Norway Firs, planted on the 
northern and western side of the site intended for the 
garden, would be of great advantage. These evergreens 
can be bought from 2 to 3 feet high, at from $15 to $25 
per 100 ; and should be planted according to size, from 2 
to 3 feet apart, making a cheap and ever improving screen 
or fence, which may be trimmed to any required hight 
or thickness. 



CHAPTER II. 

DRAINAGE. 

As drainage will be in many instances indispensable to^ 
success, I will briefly state a few of the simplest methods 
that may be adopted, premising that it is utterly useless 
to expect to cultivate any soil satisfactorily that does 
not freely and rapidly carry off the surface water. An 
expert in soils can determine almost to a certainty by 
digging down two or three feet, whether or not a soil 



DKAIXAGE. 



11 



requires drainage, but the safest guide for the inexperi- 
enced is to judge by the growing crops in his neighbor- 
hood. If on a similar soil good crops of corn, pota- 
toes, or hay, are found on undrain- 
ed soil, then it is certain there is 
no necessity to drain, for no matter 
how cultivated, or how heavily ma- 
nured land is, there can never be a 
good crop raised in any season, if 
the soil is water-logged. If the 
place to be drained is of large ex- 
tent, and the ground nearly level, 
it will always be safer to call in the 
services of an engineer to give the 
proper levels and indicate the 
necessary fall, which should never 
be less than half a foot in the hundred, and if more can be 
had, so much the better. In heavy, clayey soils, we 
make our lateral drains three feet deep and fifteen feet 
apart, where there is less clay in the subsoil, we make 
them from twenty to thirty feet apart, and four feet 
ieep. If stones are plenty on the ground, they may be 
profitably used in filling up the excavated ditch to half 
its depth, as shown in figure 1, and which is known as a 
rubble drain, using the larger stones at the bottom, and 




Fig. 1. — HUBBLE DRAIN. 




Fig. 2. — HORSE-SHOE DRAIN-TILE. 

smaller at top, and covering over with inverted sods, to 
keep the soil from being washed in among the stones, 
and thus choking up the drain. But when they can be 
obtained at reasonable price, the best and most durable 
draining is that done by tiles. It makes but little dif- 
ference whether the tile used is the round with collars, 



12 



GARDENING FOE PLEASURE. 



or the horse-shoe ; we rather prefer the latter, particu- 
larly if the bottom of the drain is " spongy ; " we then 
use a board for the bottom of the drain, as shown in fig- 
ure 2. This board is a common one of hemlock or 
spruce, cut in four pieces ; it is ripped through the mid- 
dle, and then these parts split in two, making boards 
of five inches wide by half an inch in thickness, thus 
making the common hemlock board stretch out to. a 
length of fifty feet. It is often a very troublesome mat- 
ter to get the few drain tiles necessary to drain a small 
garden, and in such cases an excellent and cheap substi- 
tute can be had by using one of boards. Take ordinary 
rough boards, pine, hemlock, or spruce, and cut them into 
widths of three or four inches, nail them together so as to 




Fig. 3. — TRIANGULAR BOARD DRAIN. 



form a triangular pipe, as represented in figure 3, taking 
care to " break the joints " in putting the lengths to- 
gether ; care must be taken that the boards are not 
nailed together too closely, else they might swell so as to 
prevent the water passing into the drain to be carried 
off. These drains are usually set with a flat side down, 
but they will keep clear better, if put with a point down, 
though it is more trouble to lay them. Drains made in 
this way will last much longer than might be supposed. 
Last season I came across some wooden drains that I 
had put down over twenty years before, and they seemed 
sound enough to last twenty years longer. 



PREPARATION OF THE GROUND. 



13 



CHAPTER III. 

PREPARATION OF THE GROUND 

After draining, (if draining is necessary), comes the 
preparation of the soil. Presuming that the ground 
where the new garden is to be made is an open space, 
clear of trees or other obstructions, there is no cultiva- 
tion so cheap and yet so thorough, as plowing and har- 
rowing. To do this properly, the ordinary plow should 
be followed .by the subsoil plow, stirring the subsoil up 
about fifteen inches deep, so that the water will pass 
through to the drains, natural or artificial, freely. After 
the plow and subsoiler, follows the harrow, which should 
be weighted, so that the teeth sink six inches into the 
soil, in order to completely pulverize it. In Europe, it 
would be considered sacrilege to use a plow or harrow in 
the preparation of a private garden, and most of old- 
country gardeners among us will stand aghast at such ad- 
vice, but I have been through all parts of the work, and 
am well satisfied, from no limited practice, that plowing 
and harrowing will not only do the work at one-fourth 
of the cost, but in a better manner than the ordinary 
digging or trenching with the spade. Let me here cau- 
tion that great care be taken never to plow, dig, harrow, 
rake, or hoe ground when wet ; if work must be done, 
pull out weeds, or set plants, if you will, but never, under 
any circumstances, stir the soil in preparation for a crop 
until it is dry enough not to clog. If stirred while wet, 
the particles stick together, and the crop is not only in- 
jured for the season, but in some soils the bad effects 
show for years. 



14 



GAKDEKTBTG EOR PLEASURE. 



CHAPTER IV. 

WALKS. 

It is no unusual thing to see the owner of a neat cot- 
tage make himself perfectly ridiculous by the way in 
which he lays out the walk from the street to his front 
door. There is a prevailing opinion that such walks 
should be curved ones, and gentlemen, often otherwise 
shrewd and intelligent, place themselves without question 
in the hands of some self-styled "garden architect," 
and thus manage to make themselves the laughing stock 
of a neighborhood. There was a well marked instance 
of this in a garden occupying a block in almost the cen- 
ter of Jersey City, where a man pretending to have a full 
knowledge of the subject, induced the proprietor to have 
a walk running about one hundred yards from the street 
to the house, made so curved that its length was nearly 
twice that distance. It was hard on the butcher's and 
grocer's boys, and it was said that even book-peddlers and 
sewing-machine agents, and lightning-rod men, looked 
ruefully at it and left him in peace. Some old authority 
on this subject says, that there "never should be any 
deviation from a straight line unless from some real or 
apparent cause." So if curved lines are insisted on, a 
tree, rock, or building must be placed at the bend as a 
reason for going around such obstacles. It will be evi- 
dent to any one who reflects upon the matter, that a 
curved walk running a distance of a hundred yards or so, 
from the street to the house, across an unplanted lawn, 
is utterly absurd. All short foot-walks from the street to 
the house should be straight, entering from the street at 
as near right angles as possible, and leading direct to the 
front door. There should be no necessity for a carriage 
road to the front entrance of a house, unless it is distant 



WALKS. 



15 



at least 100 feet from the street, and then a drive is best 
made by having an entrance at each side of the lot, as 
given in figure 4, presuming that the width of the 
ground is 500 feet, and the distance from street to the 
front door is 150 feet. Even here the foot-walk should 
be direct. The width of the roads or walks must be 
governed by the extent of the grounds. For carriage- 
way the width should not be less than ten feet, and for 
foot-walks, five feet. Nothing is more annoying than to 
have a shower-bath in early morning from the dew from 



| HOUSE | 




STREET 



Fig. 4.— APPROACH TO A HOUSE — DRIVE AND PATH. 

an overhanging branch in your narrow walk. We often 
see gardens of considerable pretentions where the walks 
are not more than three feet wide, where it is utterly im- 
possible for two persons to walk abreast without getting 
their dresses torn or faces scratched by overhanging 
branches. Besides, it argues a narrowness in the 
owner, particularly if the grounds are at all extensive, 
and looks as if he were determined to cultivate every 
available foot of land. Of course it is another matter 
when the garden plot is limited to the width of a city 
lot, (20 or 25 feet) ; then such economy of space is per- 
fectly excusable. The character of the soil must in a 
great measure determine the manner of making the road. 
Every one must have noticed that after a heavy rain, un- 
paved streets in some districts remain next to impassable 
for many hours, while in others, after the same amount 



16 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



of rain, the roads will seem firm and comparatively dry. 
In the former all carriage roads, and even foot- walks, to 
have any satisfaction from them, should have their founda- 
tions formed something like that shown in figure 5 ; this 
gives thorough drainage for the water at each side, and a 
depth of from one foot at center to two feet on sides of 
rubble stone and gravel to form the bed of the road or 
walk ; but in sandy or gravelly soils, through which the 




Fig. 5. — SECTION OF ROAD WITH DRAIN EACH SIDE. 



water passes quickly, no such expense is necessary, as an 
equally good road may be made by five or six inches of 
gravel. In foot-walks on such soils, I have found that 
three or four inches of gravel mixed with one fourth its 
bulk of cement to "bind," when watered and well rolled, 
makes an excellent smooth walk, and one in which, be- 
cause of its hardness, there is no trouble with weeds. 



CHAPTEE V. 

MANURES. 

Whether one wishes to cultivate vegetables, fruits, or 
flowers, all soils, to give good results, sooner or later need 
manure ; this is more particularly the case with what are 
known as " vegetables," these being usually quick grow- 
ing, succulent plants. Xo " fertilizer" answers so well 
for all purposes as thoroughly decayed stable manure, 
whether from horse or cow stable, it makes but little dif- 
ference, except that that from the horse stables is best 
suited for heavy soils, while that from the cow-stables 



MANURES. 



17 



suits best for light soils. The quantity used for vegeta- 
bles should not be less than would coyer the whole sur- 
face of the ground at least three inches deep, and it 
should be mixed with the soil as thoroughly as possible 
by plowing or spading. In the absence of stable manure, 
recourse must be had to concentrated fertilizers, the best 
of which are Peruvian guano and bone dust. Here a word 
of caution is necessary as to the quantity to be used ; as 
their fertilizing qualities are concentrated, instead of 
being diffused as in stable manure ; if either guano or 
bone dust, or fertilizers of similar character, come di- 
rectly in contact in large quantities, with the roots of 
plants, it injures them beyond remedy, hence in the use 
of these the necessity for caution. In our large field 
practice in vegetable growing, we use about 2,000 lbs. 
per acre of guano, sowing it on the surface of the ground 
after plowing, and then harrowing it in so as to mix it 
with the soil to the depth of five or six inches. Xow, as 
there are 4,840 square yards in an acre, it will be seen that 
something more than half a pound of guano or bone dust 
is required for every square yard of surface to be fertilized. 
This quantity will just nicely cover the surface, about as 
thick as the sand on a sanded floor ; after spreading on 
the dug surface, it should be mixed with the soil with a 
spading fork or long-toothed rake to the depth of five or 
six inches, bearing in mind that the more thoroughly it 
is mixed with the soil the better will be the result. If 
used in "hills" for corn, tomatoes, melons, etc., the 
same proportionate quantity is to be applied, and the 
mixing must be equally thorough. 



18 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



OHAPTBE VI. 

HOW TO USE CONCENTRATED FERTILIZERS. 

Whatever kind of concentrated fertilizer may be used, 
I find it well repays the labor to prepare it in the follow- 
ing manner: to every bushel of fertilizer, add three bush- 
els of either leaf-mold (from the woods), well pulverized 
muck, sweepings from a paved street, or — in the absence 
of either of the above — common garden soiL In every 
case the material employed must be as dry as it is possi- 
ble to procure it. When guano is used, be careful to 
have it thoroughly pulverized and broken up before mix- 
ing with the other ingredients. The fertilizer must be 
well mixed with the soil or mold used by turning it at 
least twice. This mixing should be done in winter, or 
early spring, and the material packed away in barrels 
in a dry place for at least a month before using it. The 
main object of this operation is for the better separation 
and division of the fertilizer, so that when applied, it 
can be more regularly distributed over the land ; besides 
this, no doubt the fertilizing qualities of the leaf -mold 
or other substance are developed by this treatment. Ex- 
periment has shown that this method of using concentra- 
ted fertilizers of nearly all kinds, materially increases 
their value. One of the most successful market-garden- 
ers in our neighborhood, has adopted this method for 
years, and in extensive experiments with different kinds 
of fertilizers, with and without being mixed, finds a sav- 
ing of quite one-third in quantity in thus treating them. 
He finds that 1,200 lbs. of guano, mixed with two tons 
of garden soil, and sown over the surface after plowing, 
and then harrowed in, is equal in effect to 2,000 lbs. 
of guano used without mixing. 



HOW TO USE CONCENTRATED FERTILIZERS. 19 

We have ourselves experimented with guano, blood 
and bone, and bone flour, with, nearly like results, and as 
a top dressing for grass, we think the advantage of mix- 
ing is even more marked. When fertilizers are applied 
to corn, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. , in hills or drills, it is 
not only more economical to mix in this manner, but 
much safer in inexperienced hands ; for when any strong 
fertilizer is used pure, injury is often done to the roots 
by their coming in contact with it in too great quantity 
in the raw state, owing to imperfect mixing in the hill 
or drill, while, if composted as advised above, the danger 
is much less. We are often asked as to the quantity to 
be applied to different garden crops. Taking guano as 
a basis, we would recommend for all vegetable crops, if 
earliness and good quality are desired, the use of not less 
than 1,200 lbs. per acre, (an acre contains 4,840 square 
yards, and cultivators for private use can easily estimate 
from this the quantity they require for any area), mixed 
with two tons of either of the materials recommended. 
This quantity is used broadcast by sowing on the ground 
after plowing, and deeply and thoroughly harrowing in, 
or if in small gardens, forked in lightly with the prongs 
of a garden fork or long toothed steel rake. When ap- 
plied in hills or drills, from 100 to 300 lbs. should be 
used to the acre, according to the distance of these apart, 
mixing with soil, etc. , as already directed. 

In regard to which of the fertilizers is most desirable, 
we find but little difference, provided each is pure. Gu- 
ano at $80 per ton, is relatively as cheap as blood and 
bone fertilizer at $65 ; bone flour at 850, or superphos- 
phate at 840 ; for in the lower priced articles we find we 
are obliged to increase the quantity to obtain the same 
results, so that the cost is nearly alike whichever be 
used. The all important point is the purity of the arti- 
cle, a matter that few working farmers or gardeners ever 
attempt to decide except by the results in culture, hence 



20 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



we advise each one who has been rising a fertilizer that 
has proved satisfactory, to experiment but lightly with 
another until the new article has proved its merits. The 
competition in the manufacture of articles so much in 
use as fertilizers, has in many instances forced down 
prices below tne point ac which they can be produced in 
a pure state, hence the widespread adulteration with 
" salt cake," "plaster," and other articles utterly worth- 
less but to make weight. Next in meanness to the quack 
that extracts money from a poor consumptive for his vile 
nostrums, is the man who compels the poor farmer or 
gardener, may be a thousand miles away struggling for 
an existence, to pay freight on the sand mixed with his 
guano, or the plaster in his bone dust. In this relation 
I am reminded of a retribution that fell on the " Sands 
of Life man," who figured so conspicuously a few years 
ago in New York. The advertisement of this philan- 
thropic gentleman, it will be remembered, was that "A 
retired clergyman whose Sands of Life had nearly run 
out," would for a consideration tell how the "running 
out " could be stopped in others. A kind hearted fellow 
in Illinois, deeply sympathizing with the old gentleman 
on account of his loss of " sand," sent him by express- 
but forgot to prepay — a thousand pounds of the Article ! 
It is reported that the " retired clergyman " on opening 
the cask, expressed himself in a manner not only ungrate- 
ful, but utterly unclerical. We counsel no vengeance, 
but if some of these sand-mixing guano men could have 
the sand sifted out by their victims with compound in- 
terest added, and returned to them under the fostering 
care of an express company, it would be but even handed 
justice, 



SPECIAL FERTILIZERS FOR PARTICULAR PLANTS. 21 



CHAPTEE VII. 

SPECIAL FERTILIZERS FOR PARTICULAR PLANTS. 

A man called at my office a few years ago with some 
dozen bottles as samples of special manures, indispensa- 
ble, he said, as fertilizers for certain kinds of plants. 
He had those with him that he claimed to be specially 
prepared for cabbage, corn, potatoes, wheat, grass, lawns, 
beets, etc., etc. He even invaded Flora's realm, and de- 
clared that his nostrum for roses was a specific for any 
languid capers of this sometimes rather coquettish queen 
of flowers. His own arguments, which were rather 
plausible and glibly uttered, were backed up by numer- 
ous certificates — authentic, I have no doubt — where his 
u potato fertilizer " had worked wonders with some, 
with others his " corn manure " had been of undoubted 
benefit, and so on all through the list. 

Now, I have no reason to say that the vender of these 
fertilizers was a quack, except the broad fact, gathered 
from an experience of thirty years, that has shown me 
that it makes but little difference with what fertilizer a 
crop is treated, provided the soil is properly pulverized 
and the fertilizer applied in proper proportions according 
to its strength. Had all his separate kinds of fertilizers 
been taken from the same bag, (provided that bag con- 
tained a good article of bone-dust or guano), the result 
to his patrons would have been the same, whether he 
had used it on one or all of the crops that he had special 
prescriptions for. 

There are few market gardeners in the vicinity of New 
York but who have at one time or another been obliged 
to take anything they could get for fertilizing purposes, 
and the difference has never been perceptible when ma- 
nure from horse stables or cow stables has been applied, 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



or when $100 per acre lias been expended for bone-dust 
or Peruvian guano, and these all used on a dozen dif- 
ferent crops without any discrimination. Agricultural 
chemistry may be all very well in some respects, but if 
it gets down to such hair-splitting niceties as to analyze 
scores of special plants, and tell us that we must feed 
each with only just such food as the analysis show it to be 
composed of, then our common sense, born of practical 
experience, must scout and ridicule such nonsense. 

Plants, like animals, are not so much kept in good 
health by the special kind of food given as by the proper 
quantity and conditions surrounding the individual when 
the food is received, and what proper temperature and 
pulverization of soil may be to the plant,_air and exercise 
and also proper temperature are the corresponding con- 
ditions necessary for healthy animal life. Who will say 
that the beef -fed English laborer is in any way the phys- 
ical superior of the Irishman or Scotchman whose daily 
food has been only potatoes and oat-meal ? You get 
usually fine and nearly equal development in each case, 
but it is a condition due to a natural use of the muscles 
in the open air in a congenial climate rather than to 
anything special in the food. It would be quite as rea- 
sonable to tell us that a special food, chemically consid- 
ered, is necessary for each class of our domestic animals 
as for our domestic plants, and none but the veriest 
charlatan or ignoramus will do either. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE LAWN. 

Since the introduction of the lawn-mowers, the keep- 
ing of the lawn has been so simplified that no suburban 
residence is complete, without one, and there is now no 



THE LAWX. 



23 



more excuse for tall grass "going to hay" in the door 
yard than there would be for cobwebs taking possession of 
the rooms inside the dwelling. We occasionally see some 
parsimonious individual, even now, who remembers that 
in his grandfather's days, grass was allowed to grow for 
the food of the "critters," and he leaves it for food for 
his "critters" still. Though at the same time his furniture 
inside, that nobody but himself ever sees, or has an op- 
portunity to admire, for such men are not troubled with 
friends, may have cost him 85,000 or 810,000. We have 
two or three notable examples of this kind in my imme- 
diate neighborhood, but it is gratifying to know that 
such neighbors are not numerous, for the example of 
the majority will soon shame them into decency. To 
have a lawn in first rate condition, the ground must be 
put in order in the way described under the heads of 
" Draining" and " Preparation of the Soil," for if these 
are necessary anywhere, they are still more necessary for 
the lawn, the soil of which should be as thoroughly pul- 
verized and enriched by manure, as any ground intended 
for the cultivation of either vegetables or fruits. 

Great care must be taken to have the surface of the 
ground for the lawn, (unless a very large one), made 
perfectly level, for if this is not done before the lawn 
is sown, it cannot be altered but at great expense 
and inconvenience. After the surface is made level 
roughly, it should be further smoothed with the rake, 
and all stones of any considerable size removed, so that 
the surface will be smooth for the action of the lawn- 
mower. Wherever the extent of the lawn does not ex- 
ceed 2,500 square feet, and where sods can be obtained 
from a suitable pasture near at hand without much cost, 
the best way to make the lawn is to sod it, but before 
doing so, the ground should be rolled or beaten down, 
particularly if any portion of it has been filled in, so that 
there may be no " settling " to form hollows or inequali- 



24 



GAKDEKI^G FOE PLEASUKE. 



ties. A convenient size of sod to lay clown is 12 by 18 
inches, and of a thickness of 2 inches, in laying see that 
the edges are neatly laid together; and the whole firmly 
beaten down with the back of a spade. If it is dry 
weather when the work is done, it may be necessary to 
thoroughly drench the newly-laid sod for a week or so 
after planting, every other evening. When the lawn is 
too extensive to be sodded, the following mixture of grass 
seed may be used, which we have found to make an ex- 
cellent lawn : 

8 quarts Ehode Island Bent Grass, 

3 quarts Creeping Bent Grass. 
10 quarts Ked Top Grass. 
10 quarts Kentucky Blue Grass. 

1 quart White Clover. 

This mixture is not indispensable to the formation of a 
good lawn, though we believe it to be the best. Some of 
the fine lawns seen at Newport, E. I. , are . composed al- 
most entirely of Ehode Island Bent grass mixed with 
about one-sixth of white clover, but the humidity of the 
atmosphere there has no doubt more to do with the rich- 
ness of the lawn than the variety of grass it is composed 
of. I may here caution the use of spurious seed for this 
purpose. It is no uncommon thing that either through 
ignorance or short-sighted economy, " hay-seed " is taken 
direct from the hay-loft and sown to form the lawn. If 
from good hay, the seed will be principally timothy and 
red clover, and vain would be all the attempts to get a 
smooth lawn from such a source. It would be about as 
reasonable to expect figs from thistles. If the soil is rich, 
and has been thoroughly prepared, three bushels per acre 
will be sufficient, but if thin and poor, from four to five 
bushels had better be sown. If sown in early spring, as 
soon as the soil is dry enough to work, a good lawn will 
be formed by midsummer the first year, if it has been 



DESIGN FOR GARDEN. 



25 



mown regularly at intervals of eight or ten days. The 
seed must be sown as evenly as possible/ and for this rea- 
son a calm day must be chosen, as a very slight wind will 
throw the seed into heaps. After sowing, the ground 
may be lightly harrowed if the surface is large, but if 
not, give it an even raking, but in either case the ground 
should be smoothed down with a roller or patted with a 
spade, so to form a smooth surface to be mowed. Al- 
though if a choice can be had, it is best to sow the lawn 
seed in early spring, yet it can be sown nearly as profita- 
bly in September, or in the more southerly states in Oc- 
tober, or for that matter, even as late as May and June 
in spring, only if so late, it is better to mix one quart of 
oats to every bushel of grass-seed, that the oats may 
shade and protect the young grass from the sun until it 
has root enough to support itself. But if sown in March 
or April, or in September or October, there is no need of 
using the oats, as no injury will be done by the sun at 
these seasons. To keep the lawn in proper condition, it 
should be mowed over once every week if the weather is 
moist, and not less than once in two weeks, even in dry 
weather, for if the lawn has been properly made in the 
first place, and " top dressed" with a good coat of well- 
rotted manure in fall, and the rough raked off in spring, 
the weather must be dry and hot indeed to prevent its 
growth. 



CHAPTER IX. 

DESIGN FOR GARDEN. 

As this book is intended to comprehend all the wants 
of a cottage or suburban garden, including flowers, fruits, 
and vegetables, it would increase its size too much to 
2 



26 



GARDEXIXG FOR PLEASURE. 




200 Feet Front. 

Fig\ 6.— DESIGN FOK LAYING OUT GROUNDS. 



DESIGX FOR GAR DEIS*. 



27 



give a great variety of designs for the flower-garden. To 
those that require such, some intelligent landscape gar- 
dener should be consulted. Intelligent, I say, for nine 
out of ten that pretend to be landscape gardeners are 
not ; but consult a man able to draw a neat design, for 
if he cannot do that he is not a very safe person to be 
intrusted with the working out of the plan of another. 
You are careful to ascertain that the architect for your 
house is a man of education and intelligence before you 
entrust yourself in his hands, but when it comes to de- 
signing the lawn and flower-grounds, the veriest bog- 
trotter, who styles himself a " landscaper," is too often 
allowed to display his "art," and at the same time make 
you ridiculous. Rest assured that if such a pretender 
has not had ambition enough to become fairly well in- 
structed, he is not likely to show much taste in design- 
ing your grounds. 

The design, (fig. 6), shows an area of 200 feet by 350, 
or a plot of nearly two acres, about one-third of the 
whole facing the street, is used for flower-garden and for 
dwelling, the two-thirds in the rear for fruit and vegeta- 
ble grounds. There is a point in this sketch, to which I 
wish to call attention, as it is one too often lost sight of ; 
the flower-garden and lawn face the street, while the fruit 
and vegetable grounds are at the rear ; the view of these 
from the street is shut out upon one side by a screen or 
tall hedge of evergreens, H, and upon the other by a 
curvilinear glass structure, G, which may be used either 
as a grapery or a greenhouse. The walk, w, passes on 
each side of the house to connect with other walks at the 
rear ; the beds, F, may be planted in ribbon lines either 
with flowering plants or those with brilliant and strongly 
contrasting foliage. The flower-beds, f, each side of the 
entrance near the front, may be made of any form that 
may be preferred ; a simple circle planted as suggested 
in the next chapter, will produce a good effect, and be 



GAKDEXTXG TOR PLEASURE. 




DESIGN FOR GARDEN. 



29 



more easily cared for than beds of the style here given ; 
most persons, where the floral ornamentation is, as in this 
case, confined to a few effective masses, prefer to change 
not only the manner of planting such beds each year, but 
to alter their form occasionally. The unbroken area of 
lawn at c is intended for a croquet ground. At the rear 
of the house the central walk is spanned by a grape ar- 
bor, g a, if one wishes the vines to afford shade, or a 
simple trellis may run each side; the borders next the 
fence on each side and at the rear, (not shown in the 
plan), may also be used for grapes, or will be convenient 
for raspberries, currants, and other small fruits. The 
large plots, v f, are for the main crops of vegetables and 
fruits ; asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries, and such other 
crops as remain year after year without being disturbed, 
should be so placed at the outset as to be interfered with 
as little as possible in the frequent working of the soil 
necessary for other crops. A lot of this size will require 
the labor of one man, whose time must be exclusively 
devoted to the garden, and to nothing else, to keep it in 
proper order. Such is the extent, and something near 
the design of the grounds I use for such purposes. I 
generally have selected one of my most active men to 
take charge of it, and find he has plenty to do to do it 
well. A second design (fig. 7) shows a lot of the same 
dimensions, with a different arrangement, there being a 
stable, s, and no rear entrance, it is necessary to provide 
one from the front, and in order to secure a greater 
breadth of lawn, the house is placed at one side of the 
center of the grounds. The drive, d, in the design is made 
to turn around a group of flower-beds of fanciful pattern, 
but this may be replaced by a single circle, planted as 
suggested in the next chapter, or by a group of ornamen- 
tal evergreen or other shrubs. In this design the cro- 
quet-ground is at c, and the grape arbor, G A, is used to 
shut out the view of the vegetable grounds from the street. 



GAEDENING FOE PLEASUKE. 



A row of closely planted evergreens at h serves to break 
the force of the winds ; the suggestions as to the other 
details in the preceding plan, (fig. 6), apply to this also. 



CHAPTEE X. 

PLANTING OF LAWNS AND FLOWEE-BEDS. 

The subject of lawn planting, including the proper 
setting and grouping of trees and shrubs, and their most 
effective disposal, is too extended for the scope of this 
book. These matters belong to works upon landscape 
gardening, and are ably treated in those by Downing, 
Kemp, Weidenmann, Scott, and others. But the plant- 
ing of flower-beds comes properly within our limits. The 
old-fashioned mixed borders of four or six feet wide alone: 

o 

the walks of the fruit or vegetable garden, were usually 
planted with hardy herbaceous plants, the tall growing at 
the back, with the lower growing sorts in front. These, 
when there was a good collection, gave a bloom of varied 
color throughout the entire growing season. But the 
more modern style of flower borders has quite displaced 
such collections, and they are now but little seen, unless 
in very old gardens, or in botanical collections. Then 
again, we have the mixed borders of bedding plants, a 
heterogeneous grouping of all kinds of tropical plants, 
still holding to the plan of either placing the highest at 
the back of the border if it has only one walk, or if a bed 
has a walk on each side, the highest in" the middle, and 
the plants sloping down to the walk on each side. The 
mixed system still has its advocates, who deprecate the 
modern plan of massing in color as being too formal, and 
too unnatural u way to dispose of flowers. But be that 



PLAXTIXG OF LAWKS AXD FLOWER-BEDS. 



31 



as it may, we will not stop to argue the matter further 
than to state, that in a visit to England in 1872, it was 
most evident that the " Carpet Styles" of massing plants 
as done at Battersea Park, London, were interesting to 
the people in a way that no mixed border could ever be. 
Any one who has not yet seen the wonderful effects pro- 
duced by the massing of plants in this way, has a treat 
before him. Nearly all the public parks in and about 
"London are so planted, and thousands of cottage gardens 
vie with each other in imitation of the parks. But to 
plant in patterns or in ribbon lines requires for immediate 
effect a large number of plants, for the reason that they 
must be so set out that they will meet to form continu- 
ous masses shortly after planting. 

An illustration in circles (for convenience), is given in 
fig. 8, to show what plants can be massed together to give a 
pleasing effect. Of course 
it will be understood that 
a bed of any shape can be 
planted in this manner as 
well as circular beds, only 
keeping in view the width 
of the bed. For example, 
a bed having a diameter 
of ten feet may require 
eight or ten different 
kinds of plants to form the 
necessary contrast, while 
that of five feet will not re- 
quire more than half that number. The following named 
plants are well suited for planting in masses or ribbon 
lines ; they are named as nearly as possible in the ordei 
of their hight, number one in each case being the tallest. 
Many of them will require to be "pinched back" to 
keep at the proper hight, so that the outline will form a 
regular slope from the center or highest point, down to 




Fiff. 8.— -DIAGRAM OF FLOWER-BED. 



32 



GAKDEKIXG FOR FLEASUEE. 



the front or lowest point — thus in list No. I, Canna Indica 
zebrina will grow six feet high, while Lobelia Paxtoni, 



Fig. 9. — section or flower-bed. 

the lowest, is less than six inches. The section given in 
figure 9 will give an idea of the arrangement of a bed of 
this kind. 

T/rciT "f Average hight 

a 1 J ' in feet. 

1. Canna Indica zebrina, leaves green and brown striped 6 

2. Salvia splendens, flowers scarlet 5 

3. Golden Coleus, leaves orange and brown. 4 

4. Achyranthes Lindeni, leaves rich crimson 3 

5. Phalaris arundinacea var., leaves white and green ,2y a 

6. Achyranthes Gilsoni, leaves carmine 2 

7. Bronze Geranium, leaves golden bronze iy a 

8. Centaurea Candida, leaves white 1 

9. Alternanthera latifolia, leaves crimson and yellow 3 / 4 

10. Lobelia Paxtoni, flowers blue 7a 

List No.- 2. Ave iS%Jt! 0ht 

1. Caladium esculentum, leaves large green 5 

2. Japanese Maize, leaves striped white and yellow 5 

3. Coleus Verschafleltii, leaves chocolate crimson 4 

4. Delphinium bicolor, flowers blue and w T hite 3 

5. Cyperus altera if olius var., leaves white and green 2y 3 

6. Achyranthes Verschaffeltii, leaves crimson 2 

7. Mountain of Snow Geranium, leaves white and green iy a 

8. Tropa?olum, Ball of Fire, flowers flame color 1 

9. Echeveria metallica, leaves gray, metallic lustre 3 / 4 

10. Alternanthera amoena, yellow and carmine ' y a 



PLAKTIKG OF LAW^S AND FLOWER-BEDS. 33 

It will be understood that these lists of plants can be 
transposed in any way necessary to suit beds of all 
widths, keeping in view that where small beds are placed 
near walks the lower growing kinds are most suitable, 
while for beds at greater distances from walks, or 
other points of view, the taller growing kinds must 
be used. Very fine effects are produced by plant- 
ing on a lawn a single specimen of stately habit, such 
as some varieties of the Eicinus, or Castor-oil Bean, 
which grow ten and twelve feet in hight in one season, 
and are particularly striking plants. Or instead of this, 
a mass of six, eight, or twelve plants of scarlet sage will 
form a group six feet high by as many in diameter, and its 
dazzling scarlet color, contrasting against the green of 
the lawn, is superb. Many of the Amaranths are also 
well suited for planting in single groups. Amarantus 
tricolor gigantea, (Joseph's coat), grows to the hight of 
six feet, and its leaves in the late summer and fall 
months exceed in brilliancy of color anything we know 
of in foliage ; scarlet, crimson, and golden yellow pre- 
dominating. Another, the Amarantus bicolor ruber, 
grows to the hight of five feet, and is plumed with scar- 
let crimson. In contrast to these, plants of a more 
somber tint may be used, in individual specimens or in 
a group of such as Pampas Grass, (Gynerium argenteum), 
or the Eavenna Grass, (Eriantlius Ravennm), each of these 
attain a hight from six to ten feet, and have a graceful ap- 
pearance. The Tanyah, Oalaclium esctdentum, a tropical 
looking plant growing three or four feet in hight, and 
producing leaves sometimes eighteen inches across. 

THE CARPET STYLE OF FLOWER-BEDS. 

Planting, as practised at Battersea and other parks in 
London, is as yet but little seen with us ; our public 
parks here have shown a lamentable want of taste in this 



34 



GARDEXIKG FOR PLEASURE. 



matter, especially those of Xew York and Brooklyn ; 
Philadelphia and Boston have done better, but all of 
these are weak attempts when compared with the grounds 
of some of our private gentlemen, notable among whom 
are H. W. Sargent, of Peekskill, X. Y., and H. H. 
Hunnewell, of Boston. The grounds of Mr. H. are 
thrown open to the public, who have the opportunity of 
seeing effects in this style of planting, nearly equal 
to anything in Europe, entirely at the expense of the 
munificent owner. The carpet style, so called, con- 
sists in using plants that can be kept down to a few 




Fig. 10. — DESIGN FOK SCEOLL-PATTEEX. 



inches above the level of the lawn. A great variety of 
succulent plants are used, such as Echeverias. Sedums, 
Mesembryanthemums, etc., together with numerous low- 
growing Alpine plants, such as Ajugas, Cerastiums, Lys- 
imachias, Lobelias, Ivies, Alternantheras, etc., etc. 
This style of bedding requires an immense number of 
plants. One bed in the carpet style at Battersea Park, 
containing less than 1,000 square feet, required 4,000 
plants to produce the desired effect in the design, and 
not a leaf of these was more than six inches above 
the lawn. Planting in this style admits of unlimited va- 



THE CARPET STYEE OF FLOWER-BEDS. 35 

riety in the form of the beds, and contrasts of colors ; so 
great is the care exercised abroad in arranging the de- 
signs that colored papers, giving the exact tints of the 
fading flowers and colored foliage, are supplied by the 
dealers, in order that colored designs may be made and 




Fig. 11. — ORNAMKN TAX DESIGN, AFTER THOMPSON. 



studied before putting them into execution ; a single 
misplaced color, may spoil the effect of the whole. In 
works of this kind the parts of the design should be sep- 
arated by well defined portions of turf, as the color of 
each member of it is brought out more clearly and dis- 
tinctly, and the whole has a much better effect if a lib- 
eral amount of green is introduced. The two plans, figs. 
10 and 11, are introduced to give an idea of some of the 



36 



GAKDEKIXG FOE PLEASUEE. 



simpler designs ; the scroll-work, fig. 10, in various forms 
is much used, either near a drive, or as a margin or 
frame to more elaborate work. 



CHAPTEK XL 

FALL, OE HOLLAND BULBS. 

These bulbs are mainly such as are imported from Hol- 
land in the fall, and consist of Hyacinths, Tulips, Cro- 
cuses, Jonquils, Narcissuses, Snow-drops, and various 
other less known kinds. With few exceptions, all these 
bulbs are hardy in our most northern states, though all 
are benefitted by a covering of two or three inches of 
rough litter or leaves spread over the beds before freezing 
weather. The soil best suited for all bulbs is a rich, but 
rather sandy loam. All these bulbs may be' planted any 
time from the middle of September, until the ground is 
closed by frost in December. Hyacinths should be 
planted at distances of eight or ten inches apart each 
way, and from three to four inches deep. Tulips, the 
same distance apart, but a little less deep. Crocuses four 
inches apart and two inches deep. J onquils and Narcis- 
suses may be planted six inches apart and four inches 
deep. Snow-drops the same as Crocuses. 

Very fine effects are produced by planting Hyacinths in 
lines each of one color, or when mixed colors are placed 
in the lines, care must be taken to have them arranged 
so that the bed will give harmonious blending of color. 
Crosuses have nearly the same range of color as the 
Hyacinth, and may be planted either way. 

All these bulbs are easily grown in pots. The Hya- 
cinth requires a pot six inches in depth and diameter ; in 



FALL, OR HOLLAXD BULBS. 



37 



potting it is only necessary to fill the pot rather loosely 
to the brim, and press the bulb down, so that only about 
one-fourth of it appears above the soil. The pot should 
then be struck smartly on the bench to give the soil 
the proper degree of firmness, leaving it, when fin- 
ished, about an inch or so below the rim of the pot. 
Then water freely to still further settle the soil. The 
pots should then be placed where it is cool and dark, 
which will encourage a strong development of roots, 
before the bud starts to grow at the top. Such a situa- 
tion can be made by covering up the pots with four or 
five inches of sand in a cool cellar, under the stage of a 
cool greenhouse, or in a sunken pit, in each case covering 
with sand or leaves, so as to exclude heat and frost, for it 
must not be forgotten that a strong development of root 
can only be had at a low temperature, say from forty to 
fifty degrees, and any attempt to force them to make 
roots quicker by placing them in a high temperature, 
will most certainly enfeeble the flower. If we will only 
observe how nature points out to us this necessity, we 
will see how safe it will be to follow her. In all hardy 
plants, the roots in spring, (when the temperature is 
low), form the rootlets before a leaf or flower is devel- 
oped. To show the bad effects when this is not the case, 
take a root of any of our hardy lilies and plant it in 
March, and take a similar bulb and plant it in May ; it 
will be found that the early planted bulb that had an 
opportunity to slowly develop its roots before there was 
heat enough to start the top, will give a finer growth and 
finer flower than the bulb that was planted in May, and 
run up into growth before it had an opportunity to 
sufficiently push its roots into the soil. The culture of 
all the bulbs before named, in pots, is the same as that of 
the Hyacinth, only the Narcissuses and Tulips should be 
planted three or four in a six or seven-inch pot, and Cro- 
cuses ten or twelve in a pot. All these bulbs may like- 



38 



GARDENING EOR PLEASURE. 



wise be grown in moss, or even pure sand, provided that 
it is kept damp ; the necessity being a medium wherein 
the roots can revel in moisture. But whether potted in 
soil, sand, or moss, there will be no need to water, but 
at the time of potting, provided the pots have been cov- 
ered up as directed, and kept cool and dark. If potted 
say the first week in October, they may be removed from 
their dark quarters in seven or eight weeks, only before 
doing so, turn a few of them out of the pots to see 
whether they ' have rooted around the ball of earth. 
They may then be placed in full light and watered freely. 

HYACINTHS IN GLASSES. 

Although the Jonquils and ^Narcissuses can be grown in 
water in glasses as well as the Hyacinth, they are not 
often so treated, hyacinths being the only bulbs largely 
flowered in that way, some of which are shown in fig. 12. 




Belgian. Vase-shaped. * Bohemian. 

Fig. 12. — HYACINTH GLA.SSES. 



The glasses are made of various styles, from the plain 
old-fashioned Belgian to the ornamental Bohemian 
glasses, and of clear glass or colored, green, -amber, claret, 
and other shades. The glasses, which are best of a 
dark color, are filled with water just high enough for the 
base of the bulb to touch it. The glasses must be 
placed in a cool and dark place, just such a situation 



PROPAGATION OP PLANTS BY SEEDS. 



39 



as recommended for those grown in pots. Care must be 
taken that they do not freeze, else the glasses will be 
broken, and the Hyacinths more or less injured. Single 
Hyacinths are better than double ones for glasses. The 
water should be changed every six or eight days. 



CHAPTEE XII. 

PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY SEEDS. 

Nature provides abundantly for the reproduction of 
plants, and the difficulty of multiplying by one method 
is compensated by the ease with which it may be done 
in another. Whenever we find a plant takes root with 
difficulty from " slips 99 or cuttings, in nine cases out of 
ten we find that it seeds freely, and gives us a ready 
means of increase. Thus we find the much admired 
Centaureas, one kind of the " Dusty Millers," the white 
leaved plants now so much used in massing and for 
baskets, are exceedingly difficult and slow to root from 
cuttings, but are readily raised from seeds. Our fine 
strains of blotched Petunias are also troublesome as cut- 
tings, but make plants quickly from seeds. The Cycla- 
men with its turnip-like stem or bulb, could only be 
propagated by cutting in pieces, disfiguring its shape, and 
requiring years to form a circular bulb again, but here we 
have seed coming to our help which germinates freely, 
and makes a flowering plant in one year. The Apple 
Geranium never affords proper cuttings from which to 
make a plant, but it seeds freely, from which splendid 
plants can be produced in a few months. So the Pri- 
mulas and Cinerarias, both slow and uncertain from cut- 
tings, seed freely. Echeveria metallica, one of the beau- 



40 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



tiful plants of the House-Leek family, produces no bud 
from the base of the leaf, as nearly all the other species 
do, but to make up, it seeds abundantly, and so with 
hundreds of other plants to which our space will not per- 
mit us to refer. There is no rule by which we can des- 
ignate what plants are best propagated by seeds, and 
what by cuttings, exj)erience being the only teacher, and 
even the experience of a lifetime is too short for those 
of us that have had the largest practice. 

Seedling plants can be nearly as well raised in the win- 
dow of a sitting-room or parlor, provided the tempera- 
ture is right, as in a greenhouse, for seeds do not need a 
strong direct light while germinating, in fact that is 
often a difficulty in a greenhouse, as the surface of the 
seed-bed dries up too quickly in the direct sunshine, ne- 
cessitating watering, which bakes the surface. The best 
thing wherein to sow seeds is shallow boxes ; these need 
not be more than two or three inches deep, with open 
seams at the bottom through which water will drain 
quickly. Fill the boxes within half an inch of the top 
with light rich earth ; if it can be procured, nothing is 
better than black leaf-mold from the woods, or light 
sandy soil mixed with an equal bulk of stable manure, so 
rotted as to resemble leaf -mold, it will not answer un- 
less rotted as fine as dust. In the absence of either of 
these, sweepings from a paved street are excellent, mixed 
with light sandy soil, the object in all cases being light- 
■ness of the soil or mold in which the seed is to be sown ; 
for if tiny seeds, as many of our flower-seeds are, are 
embedded in a stiff soil, the germ in many of them is too 
weak to push its way to the light. When the proper soil 
has been secured, pat it down with a smooth board until 
it is as smooth and level as it well can be, then sow the 
seed carefully over the surface, distributing it evenly, 
then take a common kitchen sieve and sift just so much 
earth evenly over the seed as will cover it and no more ; 



PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY SEEDS. 41 



then take a watering-pot with the finest kind of a rose, 
and shower the earth with the spray. Keep the box at a 
temperature as near sixty degrees as possible, taking care 
to give it a shower of spray only when the surface 
appears to be dry ; but few seeds will fail to germinate 
under such conditions. But after the seeds have 
"brairded," as the Scotch gardeners say, comes another 
difficulty ; in quite a number of plants, particularly 
if sown in the house, just as soon as the seed leaf has de- 
veloped, and before the first rough or true leaves have 
formed, the seedling is attacked by a minute fungus, 
that will often sweep off the whole crop in 48 hours, if not 
attended to. The required attention is, that as soon as 
there are indications of the " damping off" of these tiny 
seedlings, they must be carefully taken up and planted 
out in similar boxes, prepared exactly as the seed-boxes 
have been ; they may be planted quite closely, not more 
than half an inch apart, and let their further treatment 
be exactly the same as in germinating the seeds. In the 
course of a few weeks they will have grown freely, and 
they may then be lifted and placed in similar boxes, but 
wider apart, say three or four inches, or potted singly in 
two and a half or three-inch pots as most convenient, 
until such a time as they are to be planted out in the 
open ground, or to be used otherwise. In this way as 
great a number of plants may be raised from a 25c. or 50c. 
packet of seed as would cost $25 or $50 to purchase, be- 
sides the far greater satisfaction of their being the pro- 
ducts of your own hands. 



42 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY CUTTINGS. 

There is no more interesting operation to the amateur 
gardener than that of increasing his stock of plants by 
cuttings or slips. Heretofore, it was accounted a great 
mystery, and unless with some of the commonest kinds 
of Geraniums, few amateurs ever presumed to invade the 
territory of the professional gardeners. Xearly all writers 
on the subject had so befogged this simple matter with 
technical nonsense, that few, not regularly brought up to 
the business, presumed to attempt it. TVe now consider 
it one of our simplest operations, far simpler than raising 
many kinds of plants from seed, and though we raise 
now over two millions of plants annually, and keep a 
man with three assistants doing nothing else the entire 
year but propagating plants from slips, yet we could take 
any careful, intelligent man from among bur garden 
laborers, and install him as a competent propagator in a 
month. AYhere plants are propagated from cuttings in 
large numbers, we elevate a bench, usually four feet 
wide, above the flue or hot-water pipes, to within a foot 
or so of the glass at the front, and on this table or bench 
we place three or four inches of sand, of any color or tex- 
ture, provided it is not from the sea-shore, and contains 
salt. This bench is boarded down in front, so as to confine 
the heat from the flue or pipes under it, and give what 
is called "bottom heat " ; the sand on a bench so formed 
will indicate a temperature of perhaps seventy degrees, 
while the atmosphere of the greenhouse, particularly dur- 
ing the night, will be ten degrees less. Now, if the cut- 
tings are in the right condition, and are inserted an inch 
or so in this sand, freely watered, and shaded from the 
sun from 9 or 10 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m., cuttings of nearly 



PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY CUTTINGS. 



43 



all kinds of plants are certain to take root in from ten to 
twenty days. But the cuttings must be in the right 
condition, and this is best shown by the engravings (fig. 
13). It will be observed that the upper portion of the 
shoot is snapped or broken, while the other is only kneed 
or bent ; this snapping point, as we now term it, is a 
true indication of proper condition of the cutting ; where 
it bends and does not break, it is too hard, and though a 




Fig. 13. — PROPER AND IMPROPER STATE OE CETTES'G. 



cutting will root, when in that condition, it will be 
slower in doing so, and the roots thrown out from it will 
be weaker and more wiry than when emitted from a 
cutting taken in the condition in which it breaks. Be- 
sides the plant grown from the older cutting will not 



44 



GARDEXIXG FOE PLEASURE. 



likely be so healthy or vigorous as one made when the 
shoot is in the proper state. 

In propagating woody plants, such as Koses, Azaleas, 
or Camellias, this test of breaking or snapping of the 
cutting does not in these indicate the proper condition, 
although they also will root if taken in the soft state, 
yet we find it is not quite so well to do so as to wait until 
the cuttings of these woody plants gets harder ; what 
this proper hardness is, it is not very easy always to de- 
termine. In roses the best condition for taking the 
cutting is reached when the young shoot, (of which the 
cutting is made), develops the flower bud to about the 
size of a large pea. Although the shoot on which the 
flower bud shows, will make a proper enough cutting, 
yet if it is not desired to waste the flower, cuttings had 
better be made of the "blind" shoots, i. e., such young 
shoots as do not flower. In making the cuttings of 
roses, or in fact of almost all plants, (with a few excep- 
tions hardly worth noting), there is no need to cut at a 
joint, although nine gardeners out of ten still do so, par- 
ticularly those who have learned the business in Europe, 
where, in this as in many other things in horticulture, 
they still follow the dictum of some savant of a century 
ago, never questioning why. But our business necessities 
here, have caused us to ride rough -shod over many of 
their set rules, and in none more ruthlessly than in this 
matter of propagating. But as this book is written 
mainly for amateurs in gardening, I will proceed to give 
a simple method by which any one can propagate plants 
from cuttings or slips, even when no greenhouse or hot- 
bed is at hand. It is called 

THE "MUD" OR " SAUCER SYSTEM " OF PROPAGATING. 

Take any common saucer or plate, into which put 
sand to the depth of an inch or so, then prepare the cut- 
tings in the usual manner, and insert them in the sand 



"mud" or "saucer system." 



45 



close enough to touch each other as in fig. 14. The sand 
is then to be watered to bring it to the condition of mud. 
The saucer with the cuttings is then placed on the shelf 
of the greenhouse, in the hot-bed. or in a sunny window 
of any room in the dwelling house ; in each case fully 
exposed to the sun and never shaded. But one condi- 
tion is essential to success — until the cuttings become 
rooted, the sand must be kept continually saturated with 
water and always in the condition of mud. To do this the 
saucers must be watered at least once a day with a very 
fine rose watering pot, and the watering must be done 
very gently, else the cuttings may be washed out. There 
is every probability that ninety per cent of all cuttings 
put in will take root, pro- . . 

vided they were in the 
proper condition, and the 
temperature has not been 
lower than 65 degrees nor 
above 100 degrees. By 
the saucer system a higher 
temperature maybe main- 
tained without injury, as the cuttings are in reality placed 
in water, and will not wilt provided the water is not allowed 
to dry up. Still the detached slip, until rooted, will not 
endure a long continuation of 100 degrees, and we advise 
that propagation be done at such seasons that the cuttings, 
wherever they may be, will have as near as possible an 
average temperature of 75° or 80° in the sunlight. The 
cuttings will root (according to kinds and the tempera- 
ture), in from six to twenty days. Verbenas, Heliotropes, 
Fuchsias, etc., root in a week, while Eoses, Carnations, or 
Azaleas, take two, three, or four weeks. TThen rooted they 
should be potted in light soil, (such as recommended in 
the article cc Propagating of Plants by Seeds, "") in pots 
from two to three inches in diameter, and treated care- 
fully by shading and watering for two or three days. To 




Fig. 14.— SAUCER PROPAGATION. 



46 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



such as desire more extended information on the subject 
of propagating plants by cuttings, I would refer to my 
work, "Practical Floriculture." 



Although florists now rarely resort to propagation by 
layering, yet now and then it may be desirable for ama- 
teurs to increase the number of some fayorite plant dur- 
ing the summer season, where no other method of propa- 
gation can be practised. The only difference between a 
layer and a cutting is, that the cutting is entirely de- 
tached from the parent plant, while the layer remains 
partially connected with it. Although layering may 
be done with the ripened wood of yines or shrubs of the 



length from or near the 
Fig. 15. — propagating BY latering. base of the plant. Take 

the shoot then in the 
left hand, (after haying stripped it of its leayes for a few 
inches on each side of where it is to be cut), keep the 
fingers under the shoot, and make a cut on the upper part, 



CHAPTEK XIV. 



PROPAGATING BY LAYERING. 




growth of the preyious 
season, yet it is prefer- 
able to use the shoot of 
the present year in its 
half green state ; for ex- 
ample, a rose or flower- 
ing shrub is pruned in 
the usual way in spring; 
by midsummer it will 
haye made strong shoots 
one, two, or three feet in 



ABOUT GRAFTING ASTD BUDDING. 



47 



an inch or so in length, and to about half the thickness 
of the shoot, then slightly twist the "tongue" or cut 
part to one side, as shown in the engraving, fig. 15; hay- 
ing opened a shallow trench, fasten the branch down 
with a hooked peg, and coyer with earth ; it is a good 
plan to place a flat stone oyer the layer to prevent the 
soil from drying out. This plan of cutting the shoot in 
layering is rarely shown in illustrations on the subject, 
the cuts usually being represented at the under side of 
the shoot. When cut at the lower side, the shoot can 
not be laid down without danger of breaking it. 



CHAPTER XV. 

ABOUT GRAFTING AND BUDDING. 

It is often desirable to be able to bud or graft one 
variety of plant on another entirely different variety ; 
and it is an interesting fact to know that the bud taken 
from one plant and inserted so that it grows in another, 
and is entirely sustained by the plant into which it has 
been budded, in no way changes its character. This 
fact is so well known to gardeners that they rarely think 
it necessary to mention it in writing on the. subject, and 
many amateurs interested in horticultural matters have 
very confused notions on budding. To illustrate: if a 
leaf bud is taken from a white Eose, and inserted in the 
stem of a red Eose, all the branches that proceed from 
this bud, leaves or flowers, will be identical with the 
white Eose from which it was taken. Or if a leaf bud 
of the red Eose be inserted in the white, the same result 
would follow ; it will be identical in all respects with the 
red variety. Or you may take a bud or graft from the 



48 



GAKDEKISTG FOE PLEASUKE. 



sourest crab apple,, and insert it into a branch of the 
sweetest apple tree you can find, and the shoot which 
grows from the crab apple bud will ever remain a crab, 
and will in no way be affected by the sweet apple stock 
on which it is growing. Or if the operation is reversed,, 
and the sweet apple is budded or grafted on the sour, 
the result will be the same ; its individuality will be in 
no way changed, it wdll be identical with the variety 
from which it was taken. 

Still further to illustrate this matter of budding or 
grafting, you may take a rose-bush haying any number 
of shoots, it makes no difference whether one or a hun- 
dred ; on each shoot you may bud a distinct variety of 
Rose, of all the colors, forms or odors embraced in the 
Roses, and each one will hold its distinct characteristic 
of color, form, or fragrance, be it crimson, white, pink, 
or yellow in color, double or single in form, or of tea or 
other odor. Or you may take a young seedling apple 
tree, insert a bud of another into it, then after that bud 
has made a growth, bud still another variety into that, 
and so on as many as is desired, rub of all shoots in the 
stem that start below, and the variety last budded will 
hold its individuality unchanged, no matter though the 
life-sustaining sap flows through the cells of several dif- 
ferent kinds. You may mark the space occupied by each 
of the varieties, and cut back to any particular variety, 
and the fruit that will be produced by that part, which will 
then be the top, will hold its character without change. 
What is true of roses and apples, is of course equally 
true of whatever plant that can be grafted or budded. 

The stock does not in any manner affect the individu- 
ality of the graft, and I supposed that this w T as one of 
the generally accepted axioms of horticulture, but in a 
conversation not long ago with a gentleman whose opin- 
ion is entitled to consideration, I found him inclined to 
believe that there were some few exceptions to what was 



ABOUT GKAFTING AND BUDDING. 



49 



admitted to be a general law, and in support of his argu- 
ment, he referred me for exceptions to Darwin's " Plants 
and Animals under Domestication." I have examined 
this work, and find only two cases wherein it is claimed 
that the graft is influenced by the stock, or the stock by 
the graft. The first is at page 457, Vol. 1, where "Prof. 
Caspary describes the case of a six-year-old white Moss 
Eose, which sent up several suckers, one of which was 
thorny and destitute of moss, exactly like those of the 
Provence Eose, (R. centifolia), another shoot bore both 
kinds of flowers, and in addition longitudinally striped 
flowers. As this white moss had been grafted on the 
Provence Eose, Prof. Caspary attributes the above changes 
to the influence of the stock, but from the facts already 
given, and from others to be given, bud variation with 
reversion is probably sufficient explanation " ; and Dar- 
win proceeds to give nearly a dozen cases of like variation 
where there was no grafting at all. A very marked case 
of this "bud variation 99 is at the present time existing 
in my own greenhouses. In a bed of about one hun- 
dred plants of the new tea-rose, " La Nankin," all made 
from the cuttings from one parent plant, we have had 
four distinct varieties. The original flower or bud has 
its base or lower half of a nankeen yellow color, while its 
upper half is pure white, the separate colors being clearly 
defined, yet among our plants from cuttings we have 
some flowers that are entirely of the nankeen color, with- 
out white ; then again pure white with no nankeen, and 
on one shoot the flowers came of a light pink or blush 
shade. Now had Prof. Caspary a grafted plant of "La 
Nankin " playing these freaks, he no doubt would have 
concluded that it was the influence of the graft on the 
stock. There are other instances in grafting where an 
amalgamation of individualities apparently occurs ; these 
cases are familiar to all horticulturists of much experi- 
ence, and are also alluded to by Darwin in the work above 
3 



50 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



referred to. He gives a number of instances where the vari- 
egated Oleander grafted on the plain leaved variety as a 
stock, imparts the variegation to the stock, or where a yel- 
low-leaved ash tree, grafted on the common green-leaved 
variety, produced a blotched or variegated variety. That 
most of the variegation in the foliage of plants, is due to 
disease, or at least some disturbance of the regular func- 
tions of the leaf, there is but little doubt, and it is there- 
fore but an accidental condition of the individual. Where 
a variegated plant is budded or grafted upon a healthy 
subject, the disease is transmitted from the unhealthy 
bud or graft to the healthy stock in a manner somewhat 
analogous to innoculation of smallpox virus in man. The 
character or constitution of the individual is in no way 
affected in the one case more than in the other. Marked 
instances in which plain-leaved plants become variegated 
by being grafted with variegated cions, are afforded by 
the variegated Abutilons ; but in all such cases it is sim- 
ply the "blotching" or "disease" of the foliage that 
occurs, there is no change whatever in the coloring of the 
flowers or shape of the leaves, the individuality of these 
remains unchanged. That leaf variegation is indicative 
of disease, is manifest from another fact. It is quite a 
common thing to find a shoot sent out by the silver- 
leaved or variegated Geraniums that is pure white in stem 
and leaves, not a particle of green, or such golden varie- 
gated kinds of Geraniums as " Mrs. Pollock "will send 
out a pure yellow shoot ; but all efforts to make plants of 
such shoots will fail ; they may feebly root as cuttings, 
or they may be grafted on a green-leaved, healthy stock 
long enough to drag out a few weeks of existence, but the 
disease is here thoroughly established, and all attempts 
to propagate these entirely abnormal growths completely 
fail. It has been claimed that the Duchesse d'Angouleme 
and other pears are much better flavored when grafted on 
the quince than on the pear stock, and these are quoted 



HOW GRAFTING AXD BUDDING ARE DONE. 51 



as examples of the influence of the stock on the graft, but 
to me this seems capable of another explanation : 

We know that the pear stock is a vigorous and 
rampant grower as compared with the quince, and 
may it not be that this vigor of growth in the tree impairs 
the flavor of the fruit in some varieties, just as we find 
the flavor of fruits impaired when grown in too rich soil ? 
The effect of soil upon quality is particularly marked in 
melons. I remember that I once grew a field of three 
acres of nutmeg melons, one-half of the patch was rich 
bottom land, and the other portion was a rather poor 
hillside. The fruit produced on the bottom was much 
larger, but so different from and inferior in flavor to 
those on the hillside that no one would have recognized 
the two as being of the same variety. The same, though 
in a less marked degree, probably occurs in other fruits 
under similar conditions. From these reasons I believe 
it safe to assert that no evidence has yet been shown 
wherein the stock in any manner affects the graft other 
than that it may cause it to grow stronger or weaker, 
just as the stock is strong or weak, and the amount of 
such influence will be only such as a rich or poor soil 
would produce. In other words, the " stock " is only a 
medium or soil wherein the grafted individual grows, and 
affects it no more than if it drew its sustenance direct 
from the earth — strong, if on a strong stock, as on a fer- 
tile soil, and weak, if on a weak stock, as on a sterile soil. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



HOW GRAFTING AND BUDDING ARE DONE. 

After this discussion of general principles, let us 
come to the practice of grafting and budding. In what 
has been said, they have been used as synonyms, and their 



52 



GARDENING- FOE PLEASUKE. 



object is precisely the same — to propagate a particular 
plant upon a rooted plant of another kind. Among 
fruits we do this because we cannot multiply choice vari- 
eties by seed or by cuttings ; stocks are raised from seed, 
which if allowed to grow and bear, might produce a poor 
and worthless fruit, or it may be a good kind. To make 
matters sure, we graft a twig of a kind that we know 
upon a seedling about which we know nothing. With 
Camellias, the choice kinds cannot well be propagated from 
cuttings, but some of the commoner kinds will grow in 
this way, and the choice Camellias are grafted uj)on stocks 
obtained by rooting cuttings of the others ; so in various 
cases among fruits and flowers, budding or grafting af- 
fords the readiest, if not the only method, by which we 
can multiply certain varieties. A graft is a twig contain- 
ing one or more buds, and so inserted or planted in the 
stock that the new bark and new wood of the two shall 
be in close contact ; in budding, a single bud with no 
wood, or as little wood as possible, is inserted or planted 
below the bark of the stock and in direct contact with its 
new or sap-wood. TThile we give the two operations dif- 
ferent names, the French call budding simply a variety of 
grafting — shield-grafting. In a general way it may be stated 
that in grafting we use buds of a previous year, and in- 
sert them upon the stock where they are to grow the 
spring after they are formed, and as soon as vegetation 
starts, these buds commence to grow. In budding we 
use buds of the current season's growth ; the recently 
formed buds, near the end of the growing season, are 
planted in the stock where they unite, and remain dor- 
mant until spring, when the inserted bud pushes into 
growth at the time that the natural buds of the stock 
start. These statements apply only to out-door grafting 
and budding ; when these operations are performed under 
glass, the propagator has control of atmospheric condi- 
tions, and varies them to suit the subjects in hand. In 



GRAFTING. 



53 



out-door grafting, such as that upon fruit-trees, the cions 
are best if cut in the fall and preserved in sand or saw- 
dust in the cellar during the winter ; though with very 
hardy sorts this is not essential, they should be cut before 
any swelling of the buds takes place. The operation suc- 
ceeds best when the buds on the cion are perfectly dor- 
mant, and those on the stock have swollen and about to 
open. 

GRAFTING. 

The various methods of grafting are too many to describe 
here ; the simplest is the cleft graft ; the stock is sawed 
off and the end cleft or split for a few inches down 
through the center, (fig. 16) ; the cion, (or two if the 
stock is over an inch in 
diameter), with two or three 
buds, has its lower end 
smoothly cut to form a 
wedge a trifle thicker on 
one side than the other, 
(fig. 1?) ; the cleft in the 
stock is pried open by means 
of an iron wedge or a wedge- 
shaped stick, and the cion 
or cions set with the thicker 
edge of the wedge outward, 
observing to bring the in- 
uer bark and new wood 
of stock and cion in as 
close contact as possible; the opening wedge being 
withdrawn, the spring of the stock will hold the cions 
in place, (fig. 18) ; the junction is to be covered with 
grafting wax, or waxed cloth, taking care to completely 
cover every wounded portion of both stock and cion. It 
is by this method that most of the grafting is done all 
over the country ; it is rude but very successful ; the ob- 




Fig. 16. Fig. 17. Fig. 18. 

CLEFT GRAFTING. 



54 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE, 



jection to it is that it leaves too great a wound to be 
closed over. For small stocks the whip-graft is generally 
used ; it is much easier to do it than to describe it ; stock 
and cion should be as near of a size as possible ; both are 
cut with a similar slope, and in each slope is cut a tongue 
as in fig. 19 ; when the two slopes are put together, the 




Fig. 19. — WHIP GRAFT. Fig. 20. — SIDE GRAFT. 



two tongues are interlocked as in the engraving, taking 
care that the inner bark of stock and cion come in con- 
tact as completely as possible. In this illustration the 
parts are represented as tied with twine, to show the 
joint below, but in practice the whole is completely cov- 
ered with a band of waxed cloth. This, where practica- 
ble, is an excellent graft, there being no large wounds to 
heal over, and the points of union are numerous. This 
graft is much used by nurserymen in root-grafting small 
apple and pear stocks. A very simple form called the side- 
graft is often employed by florists and nurserymen ; the 



GRAFTING. 



55 



cion is cut to a long wedge, and the stock has a down- 
ward cut made in its stem into which the cion is inserted 
as in fig. 20. In grafting the Camellia and other hard- 
wooded plants, a combination of the whip and side graft 
is made use of as shown in fig. 21. 

Grafting wax used to cover the wounds made in graft- 
ing may be purchased at the seed and implement stores, 
or the amateur can make it himself. It should be soft 




Fig. 21.— GRAFTING THE CAMELLIA. 



enough to be molded by the heat of the hand on a cool 
day, but not so soft as to run when exposed to the heat 
of the sun. It is essentially rosin and beeswax, with tal- 
low or linseed oil enough to make it sufficiently soft. A 
good formula is rosin 2 lbs., beeswax T| 4 lb., tallow 3 | 4 
lb. The better way for the amateur to use this is to melt 
the whole together thoroughly and then dip in it strips 
of well worn cloth, such as may be torn from a worn-out 
sheet or calico dress. These waxed strips will tear read- 
ily, and may be neatly fitted to the graft to make a com- 



56 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



plete covering; the fingers should be slightly greased 
when applying the waxed cloth. 

BUDDING 

The shoot or stock to be budded upon must be in a 
thrifty growing state, so that the bark can be raised 
freely from the wood, and the bud to be inserted must 
be in such a state that it shows prominently at the axil of 
the leaf. Select a smooth portion of the stem of the 
stock, strip it of leaves, sufficiently to allow room for 
the operation, then make a cut through the bark to the 

wood of an inch 
or so, with a cross 
cut at the top, as 
shown in fig. 23 ; 
it will be observed 
that the illustra- 
tion shows that a 
slight cut of the 
bark is made above 
the cross cut, this 
is done to allow the 
bud to slip in bet- 
ter; this custom we 
think is not gener- 
al, but we find the 
operation is done quicker and better by its use. Then take 
the shoot from which the bud is to be cut, and selecting 
a properly developed bud, cut it from the shoot as shown 
in fig. 22 ; if the portion of the shoot from which the bud 
is taken is well ripened, it is best to separate the wood 
from the bark of the bud ; but if not it had better re- 
main on. Usually it is necessary to take the wood from 
buds on the lower part of the shoot, while the upper 
part being less ripened, those buds may be inserted 
with the wood remaining. The edges of the cut in the 




Fig. 22. 

BUD. 



Fig. 23. 

CUT. 



Fig. 24. 

BUD IN. 



Fig. 25. 

BUD TIED. 



THE METHOD OF BUDDING. 



TREATMENT OF TROPICAL BULBS, SEEDS, ETC. 57 

stock are lifted by the point of the knife or an ivory at- 
tachment to the budding-knife, the bud inserted and 
pushed down as in fig. 24 ; the portion of bark attached 
to the bud that projects above the horizontal cut in the 
stock is cut off/ and the tie applied. This is usually bast 
matting, though cotton wick or other soft material will 
do. The engraving, fig. 25, shows where to place the 
tie, but when of bast it quite covers the wound and ex- 
cludes water and prevents drying. In two or three weeks 
after the bud has been inserted, it will be safe to remove 
the tying, and if the operation has been performed on a 
Eose in June, it will often make a considerable growth the 
same season, but it usually lies dormant until the next 
spring. All shoots upon the stock below the bud must 
be rubbed off, and when the bud that has been inserted 
starts to grow, the stem above it must also be cut back 
just above, so that the inserted bud which now becomes 
the plant, may get the full benefit of the root. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

TREATMENT OF TROPICAL BULBS, SEEDS, ETC. 

Any information that can be given in an article short 
enough to be suitable for amateurs on a subject so ex- 
tended as this must be confined to a few well known and 
leading plants most valued for general cultivation. First 
may be placed the Tuberose, which in most northern 
states must be artificially forwarded to bloom in perfec- 
tion in the open air. The seasons are too short for the 
full development of the flowers in fall unless the bulbs 
are so forwarded. All that it is necessary to do is to 
place the dry bulbs in soil in pots or in boxes about May 



58 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



1st, (not before), keeping them rather dry until they 
start to grow freely, when more water may be given. 
Plant the bulbs thus started in the open border, the first 
week in June. The bulbs while being forwarded may be 
kept in any place where the thermometer ranges from 
about 65° to 75° at night. We usually place them un- 
der or alongside the hot- water pipes in our greenhouses, 
covering them up with paper to keep the heat of the 
pipes from them. Light is not necessary until they have 
well started to grow. A greenhouse is not essential for 
starting them in, as a hot-bed, or even a warm sitting 
room, will do nearly as well. Any one wishing to have 
their Tuberoses "started" can do it themselves just as 
well as a florist can, and as the dry bulb costs less than 
half the price of the started one, and is mere safely 
transported by mail or otherwise, any one taking the 
trouble to do it will save expense and have the bulbs in 
better condition for planting. 

Some of my readers have seen or cultivated the bulbs 
known as fancy or spotted-leaved Oaladiums. There are 
probably no plants that assume such varied and wonder- 
ful markings of the leaves as these, and when properly 
grown, they are among the most attractive plants at our 
horticultural fairs. The continued high temperature 
necessary for the healthy growth of the Tuberose, is 
equally indispensable for the Caladium. The bulbs we 
treat at first exactly in the same manner as the Tube- 
rose ; that is, they should not be started much before 
May 1st, and never should they be kept for any length of 
time in a less temperature than 65°. They are best 
started in small pots, and should be shifted into larger 
ones as soon as these get filled with roots. Started in 
May, and properly treated, they should be large enough 
by August or September to require a flower-pot twelve 
inches in diameter, and the plant should be, according to 
the variety, from two to three feet in diameter across the 



TREATMENT OF TROPICAL BULBS, SEEDS, ETC. 59 



leaves. Caladiums require a partial shade, and if kept 
in a greenhouse during summer, the glass should be 
shaded, but the light of an ordinary sitting-room would 
be just about right ; so that even those who have not a 
greenhouse can grow these rather rare and beautiful 
plants with perfect ease. The only thing necessary if 
grown as a window plant, is to turn the pot around every 
few days so that each side may get a proper amount of 
light — a necessity with all plants grown in windows. 
The soil best suited for its growth is that known as sandy 
loam, to which should be added one-third rotted manure 
or leaf mold. 

The same time of starting and a similarly high tem- 
perature is required for Begonias of all kinds, Bouvardias, 
Cissus, Coleuses, Dracaenas, Euphorbias, Poinsettias, and 
all other plants known as " hot-house " or "tropical," 
and the same general treatment will in nearly all cases 
lead to satisfactory results. All of the plants or bulbs 
referred to will dwindle or die if long kept in a low tem- 
perature, and hence it is important that amateurs should 
remember that they ought not to attempt the cultivation 
of these plants unless they have the means of steadily 
keeping up the necessary high temperature. Eor that 
reason we recommend that they should not be started 
before May, as then they run less risk of being chilled. 

What is true of tropical bulbs or plants is equally so of 
tropical seeds. Those who have not had experience or 
who have not the means of keeping up the necessary 
high temperature, should not sow the seeds of tropical 
plants before April 1st. Of vegetable seeds, the 
best known of this class are the Tomato, Pepper, and 
Egg-plant. I know they are often started in March in 
hot-beds or greenhouses with satisfactory results, but let 
any one try the experiment of sowing on March 1st and on 
April 1st, and note the result in the earliness of the crops, 
from the two sowings, and he will find that the chances 



60 



GARDENING FOE. PLEASURE. 



are that the last shall be first ; if it were always practi- 
cable to keep the necessary temperature steadily along, 
the first sown would be the first, but this is often 
very difficult to accomplish, while there is but little dif- 
ficulty with the later sowing, as assistance is then given 
by the increasing outside temperature. For this reason 
seeds of tropical annual flowers, such as Amaranths of all 
kinds, Balsams, Salvias, Double Portulacas, Cannas, 
Coxcombs, Zinnias, etc., should not be sown before April 
in the hot-bed, or if in the open ground, in this latitude, 
not before May 15th. 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 

THE POTTING- OF PLANTS. 

This naturally follows the preceding chapter, and I 
will briefly state a few of the most important points ; first 
of all is soil, or potting mold, often rather a troublesome 
thing to get by those who have only a few dozen plants 
to repot. The soil used by us, and most florists, for 
nearly every plant we grow, is one combining freshness, 
richness, and what is called friableness of texture ; this 
condition we get by paring off the sod from the roadside, 
mixing it with one-third of well-rotted stable manure, 
and throwing it in heaps until it rots ; turning it over 
two or three times until the whole is well mixed ; if the 
plants are small, we run it through a -fine sieve before 
using it ; if large, we use it rough, without sifting. But 
it may not always be convenient to get this material, aud 
it is by no means indispensable to success ; leaf-mold 
from the woods, mixed with any fresh field loam, and a 
little rotted stable manure, will answer nearly as well ; 



THE POTTING OF PLANTS. 



61 



or city folks can get sweepings from the pavements, and 
these mixed in equal bulk with any good fresh soil, that 
from an old cultivated garden is not usually so good, 
will make a pottiug soil in which almost any plant will 
grow vigorously ; of late years we have used street sweep- 
ings largely in our potting soil, and like it very much. 

Xow having the soil in proper condition, the next 
thing is the pots, w T hich, if they are not new, should be 
thoroughly washed, so that the evaporation of moisture 
will take place freely through the porous sides. One of 
the most common errors among amateur cultivators is to . 
put their plants in too large pots. If a plant such as a 
Rose or Geranium is lifted up out of the ground to be 
potted, it should be placed in a pot only large enough to 
allow an inch or so of soil to be placed below, and around 
its roots, — or to make it better understood, if the plants 
are, say a foot high, and a foot in diameter, they should 
be pruned back so that the diameter will not be more 
than 6 or 8 inches, and for such sized plants the pot 
should not be more than 6 inches wide and deep. 

The same rule applies to plants that have been grow- 
ing in pots ; if it is now in a pot three inches wide, a proper 
shift will be to one four or four and a half inches wide; 
if in a five-inch, shift to six and a half or seven-inch, 
and so on. In taking a plant out of a pot to place it in 
another one, turn it upside down with the fingers of the 
left hand spread over the surface of the earth, or top of 
the ball ; with the right hand holding the pot by the 
bottom, give the rim a smart rap on the edge of a 
board, and the ball of earth enveloping the root will 
come out, just as a jelly will out of a mold. I am par- 
ticular in referring to this simple matter, knowing that 
it is no uncommon thing for ladies to break the pot with 
a hammer in their endeavors to get at the root, although 
they would hardly sacrifice a bowl to get at the jelly. 
In shifting, or repotting, place a little soil in the bottom 



62 GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 

of the pot. then place in the ball of roots exactly in the 
center, which will leave a space of from half an inch to 
two or three inches between this and the sides of the pot, 
according to the size of plant to be shifted ; to pack this 
space between the side of the pot and the ball of roots 
with soil, it is better to use a flat stick with which to 
crowd it in moderately firm, filling up the pot to with- 
in an inch or so of the rim, this space being required to 
enable it to hold water. After potting, give a good 
watering with a sprinkler to settle the soil to the bottom 
of the pot, but after this be sparing of water until the 
plant shows signs of new growth, which will take place 
simultaneously with its making roots in the fresh soil. 
AVe use no potsherds or drainage of any sort in our pots, 
believing it to be perfectly useless to do so, the evapora- 
tion from the porous sides of the pot in our dry climate 
giving drainage enough. In the greenhouse we always 
spread an inch or so of sand on the bench or table 
upon which the plants stand ; this to some extent pre- 
vents the plants from being injured when watering has 
been too long neglected, as the pots and the soil imbibe 
moisture from the sand which is usually more or less wet. 
AVhen the plants are placed on bare shelves, either in the 
sitting-room where they are well exposed to light, or in 
the greenhouse, watering should be done at least once a 
day, provided they are growing vigorously. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

WINTER FLOWERING PLANTS7 

The increase in the taste for winter-flowering plants, 
within the past five years, has been even more positive 
than that for the cultivation of plants out of doors, 
formerly it was rare for florists to fill an order in the fall, 



WTNTBB FL OTTER IX G- PLANTS. 



63 



but now, during the months of October, Xoveniber, 
and December, they make shipments daily in large 
quantities to every section of the country ; and these 
nearly equaling in number those of plants for the open 
ground in May and June. The plants best suited for 
flowering in winter may be divided into two classes. 
First, those requiring a moderate temperature at night, 
say an average of 50 degrees. Whether the plants are 
grown in the parlor or sitting-room of a private dwelling, 
or in a greenhouse especially constructed for their cul- 
ture, the conditions should be as nearly as possible the 
same ; that is, uniformity of temperature ranging from 
45° to 55°, and an avoidance of a dry atmosphere ; it is 
easy enough in the greenhouse to get a properly hu- 
mid atmosphere by sprinkling the paths with water ; 
but in a room in the dwelling house, the only thing that 
can be done is to place pans of water on the stove, fur- 
nace, or whatever may be the source of heat. If plants 
are kept in a sitting-room or parlor, an east, south-east, or 
south aspect should be chosen. Plants of the class 
that may be grown at an average temperature of 50 
degrees, are Azaleas, Abutilons, Ageratums, Carnations, 
Cinerarias, Catalonian Jessamines, Cape Jessamines, 
Camellias, C alias, Chorizemas, Geraniums of all kinds, 
Hibiscus, Hyacinths, Myrsiphyllum, (Smilax), Maher- 
nias, Primulas, Stevias, Eoses, Violets, and the various 
kinds known as greenhouse plants, which, together with 
those above named, can be found fully described in the 
florists' catalogues. 

The second class, or hot-house plants, require an aver- 
age temperature of 60 degrees at night, the range of 
which, however, may occasionally run from 55° to 65° 
without injury. Of these we name the following : Be- 
gonias, Bouvardias, Clerodendrons, Euphorbias, Epiphyl- 
lums, Fuchsias, Heliotropes, Poinsettia, Eoses, (these 
will do in either temperature), Tuberoses, etc. For de- 



64: 



GAEDEXIXG FOR PLEASURE. 



scriptions of varieties, reference may be made to the cat- 
alogues. The necessity for this difference in temperature 
is not absolute, as many plants will do partially well in 
either ; but we make this distinction as a guide to those 
haying a choice of temperatures, in order that they may 
select the plants that are best adapted to the one at com- 
mand. In a greenhouse, particularly if heated by a flue, 
there is often a difference of five or ten degrees between 
one end and the other ; in such a case the plants named 
in the first class must be placed at the cool end, and those 
of the second class at the other. 

One of the most troublesome pests of plants grown in 
the greenhouse, or sitting-room, in winter, is the aphis, 
or "green fly," as it is termed; we have no difficulty in 
getting rid of it in the greenhouse, when it is separate 
from the house ; all that is necessary is to get some to- 
bacco stems (such as are thrown out as refuse by cigar 
makers), and soak them in water for a minute or two : 
about half a pound or so for a greenhouse 25 x20 feet is 
placed over a small handful of shavings, only enough to 
light the dampened tobacco, as too many might injure 
the plants by smoke ; the burned tobacco stems give out 
a smoke that is quickly fatal to the "green fly." To 
thoroughly prevent the least appearance of this insect., the 
greenhouse must be fumigated every four or five days. 
TTe fumigate all our greenhouses twice each week during 
the entire year ; our rule being that an aphis must never 
be seen upon any plant in the houses. If the greenhouse 
is attached to the dwelling, so that the tobacco smoke 
would find its way into the rooms, recourse may be had 
to another remedy ; take these same waste tobacco stems 
and steep them in water until the liquid is of the color 
of strong tea, with this water syringe the plants freely 
twice a week, this will not only effectually destroy the 
green fly, but will keep in check most other insects that 
infest plants. Where only a few plants are kept in 



WIXTER FLOWERING PLANTS. 



65 



rooms, the easiest way is to dip the plants entirely in 
the tobacco water, moving them up and down in the 
liquid, to wash the insects off if they have a firm 
hold. The " red spider" is another pest to winter 
blooming plants, and wherever it is seen you may be cer- 
tain that the atmosphere has been too dry, and very 
likely the temperature too hot, as it is rarely found in 
a cool, damp atmosphere. The treatment for this insect 
in the greenhouse is copious syringings with water, but 
where but a few plants are grown in the house, it is best 
to go over the leaves, especially on the under side, with 
a wet sponge. The red spider is so minute that it is 
hardly distinguishable by the naked eye, but its destruc- 
tive effects are quickly perceivable, as the leaves upon 
which it works soon become brown, and if the leaves are 
closely examined, particularly the underside, the minute 
insect will be seen in great numbers. 

Another troublesome insect among plants that are 
grown in a high temperature is the " mealy bug." The 
insect is flat, of whitish brown, usually nestling at the 
axils of the leaves, where it is covered with a white pow- 
der, making it easily distinguishable ; this is one of the 
most annoying of all insects that attack plants, as noth- 
ing seems to kill it, unless the remedy is strong enough 
to injure the plants ; so that rubbing it off with a small 
brush is the only safe remedy that we would care to 
recommend to amateurs. "We find alcohol thrown on by 
what is called an "atomizer/' sold by druggists for be- 
dewing with perfumes, to be very effective in destroy- 
ing the "mealy bug," as the alcohol reaches to every 
part of the plant, but we also find that some plants when 
in very soft growth are injured by even this light appli- 
cation of alcohol. Another pest, not an insect, but a 
vegetable parasitic growth known as mildew, affects but 
few plants in-doors except the rose, still as it is most in- 
jurious to those, we give the most effectual remedy for 



66 



GARDENING FOE PLEASURE. 



destroying mildew on roses either outside or under cover. 
Boil one lb. of lime and one lb. of sulphur in two gal- 
lons of water, until it is reduced to one gallon ; allow the 
liquid to settle until clear, and bottle it for use ; one 
gill only, no more, of this liquid, is mixed in fire gallons 
of water, and this syringed thoroughly oyer the rose 
plants in the evening. If in the Jiouse, so that syringing 
cannot be done, dip the plants in it as recommended for 
the tobacco water. As with most other remedies, we pre- 
fer to use this lime and sulphur mixture as a preventive 
rather than as a cure, and we apply it to our roses at 
least once a week, even though there is no appearance of 
mildew. In proportion as plants are kept free from in- 
sects and mildew, so will be their vigor and their thrifti- 
ness. For more complete information see special chapter 
on insects and mildew. 

I may here warn the amateur against the too common 
practice of placing plants in too large pots. As a gen- 
eral thing, when plants are received from the florists, 
they are sent without pots,- and are usually in a condition 
requiring them to be shifted into a pot larger than they 
had been growing in ; for example, if they have been 
grown in a pot of 3 inches diameter, place them in one 
a size larger, or 4 inches in diameter ; if they were in 4- 
inch pots give them one 5 or 6 inches across, and so on. 
Though we entirely ignore the use of crocks, or drainage 
in pots in our own practice, where we have always the 
proper sizes to use in potting, yet in cases where a suita- 
ble sized pot is not on hand into which to shift, (for ex- 
ample, if a plant that has been grown in a pot of 3 
inches diameter, must be put in one_ of 6 inches), 
then by all means fill up one-third of this too large pot 
with broken pots, charcoal, or some such material to 
drain off the surplus moisture that would otherwise be 
injurious, in consequence of the pot being too large 
for the plant ; but if the pot into which it is shifted is 



UNHEALTHY PLANTS — THE REMEDY. 



67 



properly adjusted to the wants of the plant, the putting 
in of crocks for drainage is worse than useless, I care not 
what the plant may be. Our greenhouse establishment 
nowcoyers nearly two acres, yet not a pot is so " drained/ 5 
The need of a larger pot is shown by the earth becoming 
so filled with roots that they well cover the outside of the 
ball, but shifting into a larger pot should be done while 
the roots are yet white ; if left until the roots get thor- 
oughly matted, brown, and hard, it is too late, and the 
future growth will be seriously retarded. If the plant 
has been allowed to reach this condition, which we 
call "pot bound," it is best to lay the ball of roots 
on one hand and slap it smartly so as to loosen it ; 
by this treatment the new fibres strike out more read- 
ily from the hard roots than if left with the ball still 
compact. After shifting a plant, give it one good water- 
ing, so that the soil will be thoroughly soaked to the bot- 
tom of the pot ; but after that, keep rather dry until 
there are indications of new growth. For manner of pot- 
ting, see chapter on "The Potting of Plants." We are 
often asked as to the use of guano and other fertilizers on 
in-door plants. As a general thing we use none in our 
own practice, preferring to shift the plants into fresh soil 
at the proper time, rather than to do so, and we would 
advise the same to our friends of less experience, for the 
use of all such stimulants is, under certain conditions 
of the plants, dangerous in unpracticed hands. 



CHAPTEE XX. 

UNHEALTHY PLANTS — THE REMEDY. 

Whenever plants begin to drop their leaves, it is cer- 
tain that their health has been injured ; this may be due to 
over-potting, over-watering, over-heating, too much cold, 



68 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



or the application of such stimulants as guano, or to some 
other cause which has destroyed the fine rootlets by which 
the plant feeds, and induced disease that may lead to 
death. The case is not usually important enough to call 
in a " plant doctor/' so the amateur begins to treat the 
patient, and the practice is in all probability not unlike 
that of many of our household -physicians who apply a 
remedy that increases the disease. Haying already de- 
stroyed the, so to speak, nutritive organs of the plant, 
the stomach is gorged with food by applying water, or 
with medicine, by applying guano or some patent " plant 
food." Now the remedy is nearly akin to what is a good 
one when the animal digestion is deranged — give it no 
more food until it re-acts. We must then, if the roots 
of the plant have been injured from any of the above 
named causes, let the soil in which it is potted become 
nearly dry ; then remove the plant from the pot, take 
the ball of soil in which the roots have been enveloped, 
and crush it between the hands just enough to allow all 
the sour outer crust of the ball of earth to be shaken off ; 
then re-pot in rather dry soil, (composed of any fresh 
soil mixed with equal bulk of leaf-mold or street sweep- 
ings), using a new flower-pot, or the old one, thor- 
oughly washing it, so that the moisture can freely evap- 
orate through the pores. Be careful not to over-feed the 
sick plant. Let the pot be only large enough to admit 
of not more than an inch of soil between the pot and ball 
of roots. After re-potting, give it water enough to set- 
tle the soil, and do not apply any more until the plant 
has begun to grow, unless indeed the atmosphere is so 
dry that the moisture has entirely evaporated from the 
soil, then of course water must be given, or the patient 
may die from the opposite cause — starvation. The dan- 
ger to be avoided is in all probability that which brought 
on the sickness, namely : saturation of the soil by too 
much water. Other causes may induce sickness in 



PLANTS SUITED FOR SUMMER DECORATION. 



69 



plants, such as an escape of gas in the apartment, or 
smoke from a fine in the greenhouse, but in all cases, 
when the leaves fall from a plant, withhold water, and 
if there is reason to believe that the soil has been poi- 
soned by gas, or soddened with moisture, shake it from 
the roots as before advised, and re-pot in a fresh flower- 
pot. Many years ago, when I used smoke-flues in my 
greenhouses, some kindling wood, carelessly thrown on 
the top of one of them, ignited, and the smoke caused 
the leaves of every plant to drop. There were some 3,000 
plants, mostly Tea-Roses, in the greenhouse ; it would 
have been too much of a job to re-pot all, but by with- 
holding water for some ten days, they started a new 
growth again, and very few plants were injured. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

PLANTS SUITED FOR SUMMER DECORATION. 

Quite a number of winter-blooming plants can also be 
used for flowering in the open borders in summer. 
Among these are Carnations, Heliotropes, Fuchsias, Ge- 
raniums, and particularly the monthly varieties of Roses. 
Also the following, not strictly winter-flowering, are such 
as will give a continuous bloom during the whole season, 
from June until October or November. Antirrhinums, 
(raised either from seeds or cuttings), Dwarf Dahlias, 
Erythrina or Coral Plant, Gladiolus, Geraniums of all 
kinds, particularly the class known as "Zonal," double 
and single, Lantanas, Lobelias, (seeds or cuttings), Petu- 
nias, single, (seeds or cuttings), Petunias, double ; Pan- 
sies, (seeds only) ; Pentstemons, Passion-flowers, Ronde- 
letias, Salvias, (seeds or cuttings) ; Tropseolums, (seeds or 



70 



GARDEXI^G FOR PLEASURE. 



cuttings) ; Verbenas, (seeds or cuttings) ; Veronicas. All of 
the above have their principal attraction in their flowers. 
The following are only useful for the brilliant color- 
ing or other peculiarities of foliage. Alternantheras, 
Achyranthes, Artemisias, Cerastiuni, Centaureas, (seeds 
or cuttings) ; Caladiunis, Coleus, Cinerarias, (seeds or 
cuttings); Dracaenas, Echeverias, Geraniums, (silver, gold, 
or bronze) ; variegated Ivies ; Lysiniachia, variegated 
Grasses ; Peristrophe, Sanchezia nobilis, Vinca major, 
etc., etc. For descriptions see florists' catalogues. All 
of the above can be raised from slips or cuttings taken 
from plants, (or by seeds where noted), during the win- 
ter or early spring months — January, February, March, 
or April, either from plants that have been kept for 
flowering in winter, or from large plants that have been 
preserved for the purpose of propagation ; the young 
plants raised from slips are in nearly every instance 
preferable to the old plants. Our practice is, to grow 
the old, or "stock" plants, simply to make cuttings, until 
we get enough from them, and then to throw the old 
plant away, reserving the young ones only for sell- 
ing, or for our own planting In the open borders. 
Cuttings are rooted in the way described in the chapter 
on " Propagation of Plants by Cuttings," or if by seeds, 
as in chapter on " Propagation by Seeds." The young 
plants should first be potted in 2-inch pots, and if early 
in the season, they will require to be shifted into 3-inch 
pots before it is time to plant them out in the open 
ground, which it is not safe to do in this latitude until the 
middle of May ; nor in any other latitude before the 
time when tomatoes or egg plants can safely be planted out. 

Nothing is more satisfactory to the lover of flowers than 
raising his own plants, no matter how able he may be to 
purchase. Those of his own raising, whether for his own 
use or to present to his friends, are always more val- 
uable than anything that money can buy. One of the 



PLANTS SUITED FOR SUMMER DECORATION. 71 



most common mistakes made by purchasers of plants in 
our city markets, is that of almost invariably choosing 
large plants, forced into flower ; such plants are usually 
grown under a high temperature to get them in bloom 
early, and many a housewife has found that the beautiful 
full blooming plant of a Eose, Fuchsia, or Pelargonium, 
which she so tenderly carried home, will in 48 hours drop 
its flowers and leaves in the cooler and drier atmosphere 
of her greenhouse, parlor, or garden. But the florist is 
hardly to blame for this, though I know he is often se- 
verely censured ; not one in a score of those who pur- 
chase plants in spring will buy any plant unless it is in 
bloom ; the florist grows plants to sell, and must suit the 
wants of his customer. This partial divergence from the 
subject in hand, is to show that the small slips or cut- 
tings that the amateur may raise himself, are in most in- 
stances better than full-blown forced plants, costing 
50c. or $1 each. This is particularly so with - monthly 
Roses, Verbenas, and Petunias ; young plants of these, 
set out in May, if not more than 3 or 6 inches high, will 
grow and bloom in profusion the entire summer, while 
those which have been forced, if they recover at all, will 
be greatly inferior. 

We plant our young Eoses in May, usually in beds 
4 feet wide, setting the plants 12 inches apart each way ; 
they begin to bloom by the middle of June, and con- 
tinue without interruption until checked by frost in the 
fall ; and so with most other kinds here named ; nearly 
all of which are from young plants, propagated during the 
winter and spring months. The product of cuttings or 
slips from a " stock" plant varies greatly according to the 
kind. A good healthy plant of Fuchsia, say 18 inches 
high, will easily give 40 cuttings ; while a Eose or Gera- 
nium of the same size will not afford half that number. 
A fair average for medium sized plants of those named 
would be 10 cuttings or slips to each plant, so that start- 



72 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



ing with 100 plants in the fall, by May 1,000 would be no 
unreasonable increase to expect ; or in that ratio be the 
number more or less. 

If large quantities of plants are wanted for summer dec- 
oration by those who have neglected to propagate them, or 
did not wish to do so, they should purchase young plants in 
March or April, at which time the florists, to make room 
in their houses, sell them at rery low rates, usually 
not more than one-fourth of the price that the same 
plants forced into bloom in May would cost. Such plants 
at that season are grown mainly in 2 and 3-inch pots ; if 
taken from these pots, say by 1st of April, and kept in 
any cool room or greenhouse, where the temperature will 
average 45° or 50° at night, by the time of setting out in 
May they will have formed far better plants than those 
pushed rapidly into flower in May. Or in other words, 
$10 expended in March or April, will buy one hundred 
plants, which, if cared for as above described, will by the 
middle of May be of more value than the plants $50 
would buy at that date from the same florist. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

HANGING BASKETS. 

Baskets in which to grow plants are now made in a great 
variety of styles, and of different materials. What are 
known as "rustic" baskets, (fig. 26), are made with the 
receptacle for the earth covered mostly with laurel roots, 
which assume an endless variety of grotesque shapes, well 
fitted for giving a rustic appearance to the outer covering of 
the hanging basket. Then there are the different forms 
of wire baskets, (fig. 27), which, when used, are lined with 



HAXGIXG BASKETS. 



73 





moss, and being thus very open, and allowing of com- 
plete drainage, are best suited of all for the well being of 
the plants. A recent invention is the 
" Balloon " hanging basket, (fig. 28), 
the trellis part of which is formed of 
strips of steel; some are so arranged as 
to hold a common flower-pot. Many 

beautiful forms 
are made from 
pottery ware, 
colored so as to 
imitate stumps 
of wood and 
other objects. 
Thousands of 
these baskets 
areusedinsome 
of their differ- 
ent forms, and 
many grow their plants in no other way, as plants are not 
only more easily managed in these, but many varieties so 
cultivated make a more graceful 
growth than is possible when they 
are in pots. In hanging baskets, 
the fall, or Dutch bulbs, of all , 
kinds, can be grown, giving them \ 
exactly the treatment recommend- ^ 
ed for growing in pots on page 36. 
When hanging baskets are hung 
on the veranda or porch in sum- 
mer, a great quantity of water is 
usually required, as the dry air 
surrounding the basket on all 
sides generally drys up the soil. 
The simplest way of watering 
them when dry, in summer, is to immerse the basket in a 
4 



Fig. 26. 

RUSTIC HANGING- BASKET. 



Fig. 27. 
WIRE BASKET. 




Fig. 28.— BALLOON FRAME. 



74 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



pail or tub of water, so that the earth is thoroughly soaked 
through ; how often this immerson will be necessary will 
depend on the weather, the condition of the plants 
and the quantity of earth. If the bowl of the basket is 
full of roots, and the weather hot and dry, then once 
each day may be necessary ; while if the weather is damp 
and cool, it might not require watering more than once 
a w^eek. The rule with these as with all plants is — never 
water unless they are dry, and then water thoroughly. 
Just what this condition of being " dry" is, is not quite, 
so easy to describe ; as a rule most soils when dry become 
lighter in color and crumble freely between the fingers, 
and are free from the putty-like consistency they haye 
when wet. The bowls of "rustic" and "Terra Cotta" 
forms of hanging baskets are usually without: any holes 
for drainage ; when such is the case, the purchaser 
should have a few holes, say one-fourth inch in diameter, 
made in the bottom of the bowl, else there is dan- 
ger that the earth around the roots may become satura- 
ted with water, unless unusual care is taken in watering. 
There is great diversity of taste displayed in the material 
with which these baskets are filled, and no special list of 
plants can be given that will not require to be annually 
changed and amended as new plants are introduced. 
When hanging baskets are wanted for use in shady rooms, 
or on shaded verandas, mosses, (selaginellas), are used, 
and sometimes exclusively. Then for the same condi- 
tions, Ivies of all sorts, Cissus, Tradescantias, Sedums or 
Stone Crops, Fittonias, Lysimachia or Moneywort, Vin- 
cas, Ivy -leaved Geraniums, Smilax, etc., as plants to 
droop over the sides, or to be trained to climb on the 
trellis work or supports of the basket, while in the center 
there are used upright plants, such as Dracaenas of sorts, 
Caladiums, (if for summer), Marantas, Centaureas, 
Echeverias, Ferns, Sanchezia nobilis, and other plants of 
striking form or foliage. For baskets to be placed in the 



WINDOW GARDENING. 



75 



sun, or in good light, an entirely different class of plants 
is needed, for with the light we get flowers. As drooping 
plants for the edges of these, may be named Alternan- 
theras, Peristrophe angustifolia var., Lobelias, Tropaeo- 
lums, Mesembryanthemums, Petunias, single and double ; 
Passifloras, Eondeletias, Torrenias, etc., while for up- 
right or center plants, Achyranthes, Coleus, Begonias, 
Geraniums, Zonal, double, single, and variegated leaved, 
or any plant of not too large a growth, and which has 
brightness of foliage or flower. If hanging baskets are 
exposed to the full rays of the sun, or even partially so, 
covering the surface of the soil with moss from the woods 
will protect it from drying too quickly, and will also give 
the basket a neater appearance. The soil used for hang- 
ing baskets need in no way differ from that for plants 
grown in pots. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

WINDOW GARDENING. 

Window gardening during the summer months is much 
more successful in England than with us, owing to 
a more temperate climate, and hence is there al- 
most universally practised. In the cities especially, 
where space is economized by placing story upon story, 
and the buildings are so close that there is often no 
room for even a spear of grass to be grown, the only 
garden that is possible is one formed in a box on the win- 
dow-sill; this is limited in its extent, as the space afford- 
ed is only some 4 or 5 feet in length, from 8 to 10 inches 
wide, with a depth for the soil of about 6 inches. These 
boxes, are made of a great variety of materials, such 
as wood, terra cotta, iron, etc., according to the 



76 



GARDEKIKG FOR PLEASURE. 



taste or means of the owner. As the boxes are usually 
too high up to allow of a close examination, and the sides 
soon become draped with dropping plants, an ordinary 
box of pine, as in fig. 29, will answer as well as a more 
expensive one; as it is exposed to the weather, and the 
weight of the earth is considerable, it should be put to- 




Fig. 29. — PLAIN WINDOTV-BOX. 

gether very firmly. Having procured the box, then let 
a tinsmith make a lining or box of zinc that will exactly 
fit inside of it ; this needs only a few tacks at the upper 
edge to hold the zinc to the wood. A more expensive 
box, (fig. 30), is made of wood, lined with zinc, and the 
exterior covered with ornamental tiles, which are kept in 
place by a proper molding at the margins. A box of 
this kind may be covered with floor oil-cloth, and if a 
proper pattern be selected, it cannot at a few yards off be 
told from the much more costly tiles. Many of the streets 




Fig. 30.— WINDOW-BOX ORNAMENTED WITH TTLES. 

of London and Edinburgh, during the summer months, 
present a pleasing appearance, that cannot fail to inter- 
est even those who have no taste for flowers. The plants 
used are mainly such as we recommend for hanging bas- 
kets, those designated for shady positions beingusedon the 
shady sides of the streets, and those for flowering on the 
sunny sides. These window gardens in summer produce 



PARLOR GARDENING. 



77 



the finest effect when planted with some drooping spe- 
cies. For our climate, during the summer months, 
when exposed to full sun, strong, yigorous-growing 
plants must be selected, such as Tropaeolums, Petunias, 
Passifloras, etc. While for the same position, the upright 
plants may be double and single Geraniums, Heliotropes, 
Mignonnette, and the like. For window boxes on the shady 
side, use the plants recommended for hanging baskets in 
shade. The soil may be such as is used for pots. Wa- 
tering must be given as recommended for hanging bas- 
kets, only in the case of the window box it would not be 
practicable to immerse it, nor is there the same necessity 
for doing so, as the box is less exposed than the hanging 
basket, which is suspended and surrounded by drying 
air upon all sides. These remarks refer to window gar- 
dening outside of the windows, or on the outer sill. If 
the boxes are placed inside in winter, which they may 
be, the treatment recommended in chapter on " Winter 
Flowering Plants," will be applicable. 



CHAPTEE XXIV. 

PARLOR GARDENING, OR THE CULTIVATION OF PLANTS IN 

ROOMS. 

Parlor Gardening has to some extent been treated of 
under the head of winter flowering plants, but a few ad- 
ditional general directions for plants not specially de- 
signed for winter flowering, may be acceptable. One of 
the first conditions essential to success is to start with 
healthy plants. Even all the professional skill of the 
florist, with all his appliances, will often fail to get a 
sickly plant into a healthy condition. What then can 



78 



GARDEXIXG FOR PLEASURE. 



the amateur florist expect to do in the often unequal 
temperature and dry atmosphere of a sitting room or 
parlor ? If the plants are purchased from the florist in au- 
tumn, to grow in the house, they are likely to be healthy, 
and are usually in a condition to shift into a pot one size 
larger ; instructions for doing this are given in the chap- 
ter on "Winter Flowering Plants," ' But if the plants to 
be cultivated in the house are such as have been growing 
in your own flower borders, plants that were set out in 
spring, and have now the full summer's luxuriant growth 
still on them, then proper precaution must be taken in 
lifting them and placing them in pots, or the result is 
certain to be most unsatisfactory. What may seem to 
the novice a little singular, is, that the more luxuriant the 
growth of the plant in the o}3en border, the more danger 
there is that it will wilt or die when lifted in the fall, and 
placed in a pot. The reason of this is obvious, when it is 
known that just in proportion to the top growth of a 
plant is the wide-spread development of roots, and there- 
fore when you lift a finely-grown Geranium or Eose in 
October, it is next to impossible, if it is to be got into a 
suitable sized flower-pot, to do so without such mutila- 
tion of the young roots as will certainly kill it, if precau- 
tion is not taken to cut off at least two-thirds of its 
branches. If the plant is thus potted and kept as dry as 
it will stand without actually withering, until it starts 
growth, you may hope to have a fairly healthy specimen 
by December, if the lifting was done in October. But 
this practice, though often one of necessity, is never sat- 
isfactory. If the plants that have done service in the 
bortlers in summer are to be used as ornaments for the 
parlor in fall, winter, and spring, they must have a dif- 
ferent treatment. All plants that are intended for future 
culture in rooms, should be potted in the usual way, 
into 5 or 8-inch pots, when set out in May or June ; 
these pots should be set in the flower borders, but planted 



PARLOR GARDENING. 



79 



or " plunged," as it is called, so that the rim of the pot 
is level with the surface of the ground. The plants will 
flowei if so desired, in these pots, nearly as well as if set 
directly in the open ground, but if wanted for flowering 
in winter, they will bloom much better to have the flow- 
er-buds picked off as fall approaches. It is also indispensa- 
bly necessary that the hole in the bottom of the pot be 
entirely stopped, so that the roots cannot get through. 
The object being to confine the roots completely within 
the bounds of the pot, so that when taken up in the fall 
to be shifted into a larger pot, the roots will be undis- 
turbed, and the plant will grow on unchecked. If this 
is not done, and the roots find their way through the 
bottom of the pot, there will be the same difficulty with 
the roots as if they had not been potted. About the best 
time to take plants in-doors in this climate is the middle 
of October ; in colder localities, earlier, of course, and in 
warmer, later ; always bearing in mind that the longer 
they can be kept in the open air, provided they are safe 
from frost, the better. Plants suited for parlor culture, 
requiring a temperature of from 40° to 50° at night, 
with an average of 10° or 20° higher during the day are 
as follows. These are known as greenhouse plants. For 
descriptions see catalogues of florists and nurserymen. 



Acacias, 


Cupheas, 


Azaleas, 


Daphnes, 


*A<rapathus, 


*Echeverias, 


*Altemantheras, 


Ferns, Greenhouse, 


*Agaves, 


Feverfews, 


*Abutilons, 


^Fuchsias, 


*Achyranthes, 


Geraniums — Pelargoniums 


Ageratums, 


Hoyas, (wax plant), 


*Callas, 


Holland Bulbs of all kinds 


Calceolarias, 


*J essamines — Catalonian, 


Chorizema, 


Jessamines — Cape, 


Cinerarias, 


Ivies — parlor and hardy, 


■^Carnations, 


*Ixoras, 


Cyclamen, 


Lily of the Valley, 


Camellias, 


Lobelias, 



80 



GAEPESTXG FOR PLEASURE. 



*Mesembryanthemums, (wax pink;, "Primula?, double and single, 

Mahernias, *Roses, 

Miniums— Musk, ^Scutellaria*, 

^OlYrsiphyUum, or Smilax, Veronicas, 

Oranges, • Vineas, 

Oleanders, Violets, 

Petunias, Yuccas. 

Pinks, 

What are known as hot-house, or tropical plants, re- 
quire a higher temperature than the preceeding, and 
cannot be well grown unless with a night temperature of 
from 60° to 70°, and a day temperature of from 10° to 
20° higher. The following, of most of which there are 
several varieties, can be found described in the cata- 
logues of dealers : 

Allamandas, Ferns, tropical, 

Allocasias, Heliotropes, 

Begonias, Hibiscus, 

Bouvardias, Marantas, 

Caladiums, Orchids, (of some kinds), 

Cissus, Passifioras, 

Clerodendrons, Peperomias, 

Cobaeas, Poinsettia, 

Crotons, Salvias, 

Coleus, Sanchezias, 

Dracaenas, Torenias, 

Euphorbias, Tropaeolums, 

Epiphyllums — Cactus, Tuberoses. 

Eranthemums, 

This matter of temperature has everything to do with 
the successful Cultivation of plants in rooms, or in fact 
anywhere. If you attempt, for example, to grow Bou- 
vardias or Begonias in an average temperature of 45 c at 
night, the plants will barely live, and Tfill not flower, 
nor be healthy. On the other hand, if you subject your 
Camellias or Geraniums to an average of 65° at night by 
fire heat to winter, you are almost certain to have the 
flowers drop prematurely. As a rule, there are more of 
the plants known as greenhouse that will endure the 



PARLOR GARDENING. 



SI 



high temperature necessary for the hot-house plants, 
than there are of the hot-house plants that can stand 
the low temperature, so when no distinction can be made, 
and a high temperature only can be had, all in the list of 
greenhouse plants I have marked with a * may be grown 
fairly in the high temperature, though they would do 
better in the low one. The culture of plants in rooms is 
already described in the chapter on " Winter Flowering 
Plants," so that I need not further allude to it, except 
to hint in regard to the man- 
ner of placing the plants. 
One of the cheapest and neat- 
est contrivances is the "fold- 
ing plant stand," (fig. 31). 
The sizes are from 3 to 6 feet 
wide, and 8 feet high, having 
from 4 to 6 shelves, and cap- 
able of holding from 25 to 
100 plants. It is hinged so , 

. ~_ y, ,., , , Fig. 31.— FOLDING PLANT STAND. 

as to fold up like a camp stool, 

the shelves fitting in between the frames, and can be thus 
shipped or stowed away when not wanted, with great con- 
venience. Rollers can be attached to the feet, so that it may 
be moved about as easily as a table. Plants, when placed 
on this, or similar stands, may be provided with saucers, so 
that the floor or carpet need not be injured while water- 
ing. It is not a good plan, however, to keep water in 
the saucers. It is always a safer way of feeding the plant 
to water the soil on the top, giving only enough for it 
to reach the bottom, where, if any water pass through, 
it will be held by the saucer. If no saucers are used, 
and we think plants are generally grown more safely 
without them, the best plan is, to take down the plants 
from the stand, (three times a week will usually be 
enough), to some place where the water will not do any 
injury, and give all such as appear to be dry, a good 




82 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



soaking ; those not so dry, water more sparingly, and give 
those in which the soil shows that it is wet, none what- 
ever. Let the water drain off, pick off any dead leaves, 
and replace the pots again on the stand, being careful to 
change them as far as possible, so that each side of the 
plant may get its fair share of light ; if the same part is 
always placed to the light, the plafrt will soon become 
drawn to one side. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

WARDIAN CASES, FERNERIES, AND JARDINIERES. 

The forms of plant cases for the growth of such 'plants 
as require a moist, still atmosphere, a condition impossi- 
ble to obtain in a room in a dwelling-house, nor even in 
a greenhouse, unless it is specially ffs^^^^^^^^^s* 
erected for. the purpose, are numer- • ( 1 

ous. The form commonly known jj ^#x.|l f 
as the Wardian Case, (fig. 32), has li^^^^^^plft 1 1 
a base or tray usually of black wal- J|HHi|. 
nut, about 6 inches deep, and lined f^^^^^^^n^lf 
with zinc, and glass sides and top ; 
these differ in size, some being . as 
large as 3 feet on the sides. Another 
neat and cheaper form is made of 
Terra Cotta, (fig. 33), or other 
earthen ware ; these are usually 
round in shape, and of various Fi " ^waedian case. 
sizes, from 9 to 18 inches in diameter. In all these the 
plants must be covered with glass ; in the Wardian Case 
there is glass all around the sides and top, the top being 
hinged to allow the escape of excess of moisture. In the 
Jardinieres, or circular form, the plants are covered by a 




WARDIAN CASES, FERKERIES, AND JARDINIERES. 83 




bell-glass which is tilted up a little at the side, when 
there is an appearance of excess of moisture. This con- 
dition of excess is known by the glass becoming dimmed 
by moisture, and the water trickling down the side. 
Usually when this appearance is seen, by raising the glass 
lid of the Wardian Case an 
inch or so for a day, it will 
relieve it enough to enable it 
to be kept close, which is the 
proper way to keep it for the 
well being of the plants. The 
plants grown in this way are 
of kinds valued for their 
beauty of foliage, rather than 
for their flowers, and should 
be such as are rather of a 
slow growth ; all rampant 
growing plants, such as Co- 
leus, are unsuited. The 
effectiveness of these cases depend a great deal on the 
arrangement of the plants ; the tallest and most conspic- 
uous things should be in the center, with smaller ones 
towards the edges, varying the interest by contrasting the 
different colorings and forms of leaves. Among the 
plants best suited for growing under these glass coverings, 
are Dracaenas, Gymnostachyums, Marantas, Caladiums, 
some of the ornamental leaved Eranthemuins, and dwarf 
growing Begonias, Peperomias, etc., and Ferns and Lyco- 
pods of the finer sorts. The most of these are plants 
whose natural habitat is shady woods or marshes ; and 
for their well being, the nearest that the Wardian Case or 
Jardiniere can be made to imitate such, the better. 

The soil used in these cases should be light and porous. 
The most convenient, and a very suitable material, is the 
leaf-mold, which can be got in any piece of woodland. 
After planting, the soil should be watered freely, so that 



Fig. — FEKNERY WITH GLASS 
SHADE. 



84 GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 

it is settled around the roots. And to allow evaporation, 
ventilation should be given for a few days after the water- 
ing, when the glass may be put down close, only to be 
opened as before directed, when an excess of moisture 
shows on the glass. Other than this there is no trouble 
whatever in the management ; the watering given on 
planting will be sufficient to keep it moist enough for 6 
or 8 weeks. In winter the temperature of the room in 
which the Wardian case or fernery is kept may run from 
50° to 70° at night. These closed cases of either kind 
may be used for growing Hyacinths in winter if de- 
sired, for which they are particularly well adapted ; 
only, that when brought into the room to flower, the 
cases will require daily ventilation. After planting the 
Hyacinths in the cases, however, it must not be forgot- 
ten that they must be kept in a cool, dark place, until 
they root, just as when they are grown in pots, or glasses. 
For further instructions on this head see Hyacinths. 
Lily of the Valley can also be grown finely in a Wardian 
case ; but as it requires some special treatment, we give 
it in a separate chapter. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

WINTER FORCING THE LILY OF THE VALLEY. 

Within the past three years the fashion for the flowers 
of Lily of the Valley has increased to such an extent, that 
though the importation of roots has probably trebled 
each year, the price of the flower is still quite as high as 
when the forcing first begun. The failures which attend 
the winter flowering of this plant are mainly owing to 
the use of improperly developed roots. As with other 



WTNTEK FORCING THE LILY OF THE VALLEY. 85 

similar plants, a certain size or development of the crown, 
or underground bud, is essential to produce the flower. 
What that size should be, is not, even with the most ex- 
perienced, always easy to determine. In the Tuberose, 
the Japan, and some other Lilies, we find that bulbs that 
are less than an inch in diameter, are not certain to 




Fig. 34.— LILT OF THE VALLEY BUD — GOOD. 



flower. The crown, or "pip," as florists sometimes call 
it, of the Lily of the Valley, when sufficiently developed 
to flower, should be of the size and shape shown in fig. 

34. Those too small to flower are like that shown in fig. 

35. But these rules as to size and shape are not given as 
certain, for few have had experience enough to say with 
accuracy at what size the crown of the Lily of the Valley 
will not flower, although we may say with some certainty, 
if the crown is large, that it will do so. It is the want 
of this knowledge that, in my opinion, has made the 



86 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



flowering of the Lily of the Valley so uncertain when 
forced. As in forcing the Hyacinth, and other similar 
bulbs, crowns of the Lily of the Valley should be covered 
up outside for a few weeks, before being brought into 
the greenhouse or house to force. Those we flower are 
put in about the middle of November, packed closely to- 
gether in light, rich soil, in boxes three inches deep. 
These are covered up outside with hay until the first of 




Fig. 35. — LILT OF THE VALLEY BUD — POOR. 



January ; they are then brought into a greenhouse, facing 
north, where there is no direct sunlight at that season. 
The temperature is kept at about 70°, \vlth a moist at- 
mosphere, and by the first of February they are in full 
flower. The Lily of the Valley could be grown finely in 
a AVardian case, as it would there get the proper light, 
with the necessary damp atmosphere. When grown in 
greenhouses, exposed to sunlight, it is necessary to shade 



GREEXHOTSES ATTACHED TO DWELLINGS. 87 



the glass very heavily. When the flowers are about to 
open, they should then have light to give the leaves a 
healthy green color. 



CHAPTEE XXVn. 

GREENHOUSES ATTACHED TO DWELLINGS. 

The taste engendered by growing plants in rooms often 
results in a desire to have more appropriate quarters for 
the plants, and a greenhouse follows. This always affords 
the most satisfaction when it is so attached to the dwell- 
ing that opening a door or window from the dining- 
room or parlor, reveals the glories of the greenhouse. 
The greenhouse, when attached to the dwelling, should be 
always on the east, south-east, south, or south-west sides, 
never on the north. It may be of any length or width 
desired. If of ten feet width, it will cost for erec- 
tion from 84 to 86 per running foot, according to the 
character of the work. If 20 feet wide, from 88 to 810 
per running foot. This is exclusive of heating, which, if 
done by hot- water pipes, will cost for 10 feet wide, about 
$4 per running foot ; if 20 feet wide, about 68 per 
running foot. Thus to complete a conservatory, with 
heating apparatus, shelves, etc., 10 feet wide by 40 
feet long, it would cost about 8400 ; if 20 x 40 feet, 
about 8800. In this estimate it is assumed that the heat- 
ing is to be done by the Base Burning Water-heater, 
of Hitchings & Co. This heating apparatus is of recent 
invention, and is exceedingly well adapted for the pur- 
pose, as the fire requires no more attention than any 
ordinary base burning stoves. The boiler takes up no 
more room than an ordinary stove, and requires no set- 



88 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



ting ; it U shown in fig. 36, and in section in fig. 37* It is 
fed by coal from the top, and can be left with safety 10 
or 12 hours without any attention. It must be borne in 
mind that in constructing the conservatory it must be 
built where a chimney is accessible by which to carry off 
the smoke from the boiler or water heater, just as would 




Fig\ 36. — B.A SE- BURNER. Fig. 37. — SECTION. 



be necessary for an ordinary stove. If the green- 
house is small enough to be heated from a register from 
the furnace that heats the dwelling, much of the cost 
may be saved, as it will be seen that nearly half of the 
cost of construction is the heating apparatus. Figure 
38 shows a front elevation of a conservatory suitable to 



89 




Fig. 38. — ELEVATION OF CONSERVATORY ATTACHED TO DWELLING. 




Fig. 39. — GROUND PLAN OF CONSERVATORY, FIG. 38, 



90 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



attach to dwellings ; this is 16 feet wide and 30 feet in 
length. Its ground plan showing the arrangement of the 
benches and walks, is given in fig. 39. Such a structure 
in every way complete, heated with Hitchings Base Burn- 
ing water-heater, should not exceed $600. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

A DETACHED GREENHOUSE OR GRAPERY. 

In cases where more extended glass structures are de- 
sired, they are better if detached from the dwelling. 
The structure now given in figs. 40 and 41 is called a 
curvilinear span-roofed house, 100 feet in length by 20 in 
width ; fig. 40 shows the end view and plan, and fig. 41 
gives sufficient of the elevation to show the end and a 
part of the side. The ends should face north and south, 
so that the distribution of the sun's rays will be equal on 
each side. Of course there is nothing arbitrary in the size, 
it may be made 50, 75, or 100 feet in length, or 20 to 25 
feet in width as desired, and may be used either for the 
purposes of a vinery for the growing of foreign grapes, or 
for a conservatory as desired. All the walling from the 
surface of the ground to the glass of a greenhouse, had 
better be made of wood, unless the walls are made very 
thick when built of brick or stone ; the continued warfare 
in winter between a zero temperature outside, and 60° to 
70° inside, will in a year or two destroy brick or stone 
walls. "When the walls are formed of wood, the best way 
is to place locust posts at distances of four feet apart, 
and nail to these a sheathing of boards ; against the 
boards tack asphaltum or tarred paper, and again against 
that, place the weather-boarding. This forms a wall 




Fig. 41. — ELEVATION (EN PAliTJ OF EETACHED GKEENHOl'SE 



OE GEAPEEX. 



A DETACHED GREENHOUSE OR GRAPERY. 93 

which, if kept painted, will last for 50 years, and is 
equally warm as a 12-inch brick wall, and costs less than 
half. We have had just such a structure in use for the 
past five years as a cold vinery, that is having no heating 
apparatus, the forwarding being done only by the action 
of the sun on the glass, and it has proved a cheap and 
satisfactory luxury. A conservatory or grapery of this 
style costs from $10 to $15 per running foot, without 
heating apparatus. Heated by hot water, it would cost 
120 to $30 per running foot. If heated by a horizontal flue 
in the manner here described, the cost will be only about 
$15 per running foot. Any good bricklayer should be able 
to build a smoke-flue from the following instructions. Let 
the bars for the grate be, (if for a glass surface of say 500 
square feet), 2 feet in length and about 10 inches in 
width ; or in the proportion of about one-half a square 
inch of grate surface to one square foot of glass. 

Most masons of any experience know how to build a 
greenhouse flue, but there are a few important points, the 
knowledge of which is absolutely necessary to complete 
success. First, the furnace pit, if not naturally dry, 
must be made so by draining. After setting the grate- 
bars in the usual way by resting them on an iron plate, 
let into the brick work at front and back, the sides of 
the furnace should be built with fire-brick and fire clay 
if at all procurable, to the hight of from 10 to 20 inches, 
according to size wanted. On these walls an arch is 
turned over to cover the furnace; the "neck" of the 
furnace rising at a sharp angle for from 2 to 4 feet until 
it is run into the horizontal smoke-flue. The flue musfc 
be raised from the ground an inch or two on bricks or 
flagging. This costs perhaps a third more in building, 
but it allows all sides of the flue to give off heat. The 
cheapest and simplest form of flue is made after the bot- 
tom is formed by bricks or flagging ; brick is best near 
the furnace, as flagging would crack. Place two bricks 



94 



GAKDEKING FOE PLEASUKE. 



on edge, the top being covered by a brick laid flat ; this 
is the smallest size of flue. Larger grate surface will re- 
quire correspondingly greater hight and breadth. Flues 
are now commonly made by using cement or vitrified 
drain pipe, to connect with the brick flue, at from 25 to 
40 feet from the furnace, the pipe not being safe to use 
near the furnace, as the greater heat would be likely to 
crack it. A flue, to get the full benefit of the fuel, should 
be so arranged that it goes all around the greenhouse, the 
base of the chimney being the top of the furnace. The 
advantage of this plan, (fig. 42), which has only recent- 
ly had general publicity, is that the excessive heat given 
out from the top of the furnace, drives back the cold air 
that would otherwise pass down the chimney; not only 
too feet 

FRONT BENCH 4 FEET V/fDE 



WALK 2 FE.ET WIDE. 




FR.ORT BENCH 



Fig. 42. — PLAN OF GREENHOUSE HEATED BY DOUBLE FLUES. 

drives it back, but passing rapidly out, " draws" to it the 
heated air that has to pass through the length of the 
horizontal flue, causing it to circulate so rapidly that all 
parts of the flue become nearly equally heated. In the 
case represented in fig. 42, the greenhouse so heated 
is 20 feet wide by 100 feet long, having a glass sur- 
face of over 2,500 square feet, a size utterly impossi- 
ble to heat with a flue unless so constructed that the base 
of the chimney stands on the top of the furnace. It will 
be seen by the plan that there are two flues- running from 
one furnace, and entering into one chimney. I only il- 
lustrate this to show the power given by this method. 
It would do quite as well, if the house was half or 
quarter the size, to have it done by one flue instead of 
the two. I would here say emphatically that no matter 



HEATING BY HOT WATER. 



95 



what size a flue may be, and whether single or double, it 
should in every case be made on the jDrinciple of being 
carried all around the building until it enters the upright 
chimney built on the top of the furnace. 



CHAPTEE XXIX. 

HEATING BY HOT WATER. 

Although we describe flues as a means of heating green- 
houses or graperies, they should be used only on the score 
of economy ; whenever one can afford to have the heat- 
ing done in the best manner, by all means let it be 
done by hot water. The hot-water apparatus requires 
less attention than flues, and its management is so simple 
that any one able to take care of an ordinary stove or 
furnace can take charge of a boiler for heating the water 
in the pipes of a greenhouse. Besides, there is no danger 
from smoke or gas, and but little risk from fire. Inside 
the greenhouse there is no danger from fire ; if they are 
filled with water the pipes cannot be made hot enough to 
ignite the most combustible substances that may come in 
contact with them. With the smoke flue it is very dif- 
ferent, dry wood or other combustible material will ignite 
if allowed to touch the brick, anywhere within 20 to 40 
feet of the furnace. There are a great many patterns of 
boilers, and to recommend one more than another may 
seem invidious ; still we have had in use quite a number 
of different styles, and have found that, as far as our 
experience with them has gone, those made by Hitchings 
& Co., of New York, everything considered, have been 
most satisfactory. We have several of these boilers in 
use that have not cost a dollar for repair in ten years. 



GARDEXIXG FOR PLEASURE. 




Fig. 43.— PLAN OF HOT-HOUSE AND GREENHOUSE COMBINED. 



HEATIXG BY HOT WATER. 



97 



Figure 43 gives the ground plan of a combined hot-house 
and greenhouse, each 20 feet wide and 50 feet long, show- 
ing the disposition of the boiler and pipes. If this 



the page, the width would 




Fig. 44. — FND-VIEW OF FIG. 43, 
AT BOILER PIT. 



plan were shown in full on 
be quite too small, there- 
fore a portion of the length 
is left out of each compart- 
ment, as shown by the ir- 
regular lines; everything is 
given in proper proportion 
except the length, and that 
is stated in figures. The 
number of pipes indicated, 
(10), is sufficient to give a 
temperature of from 60° to 
70° at night for the hot- 
house, and the number given in the greenhouse, (6), is 
such as will keep that compartment at from 40° to 50° 
in the coldest weather. A sectional view at the end where 

the boiler pit is placed is 
given in fig. 44, and an- 
other sectional view at 
the partition between the 
greenhouse and hot-house 
is shown in fig. 45. The 
cost of such a structure 
complete for the reception 
of plants, would vary ac- 
cording to location, and 
the style of finish; in the vicinity of New York at pres- 
ent prices, such a combined hot-house and greenhouse, 
20x100, erected in a substantial manner, would cost 
about $3,000. 




Fig. 45. — END-VIEW OF FIG. 43, AT 
PARTITION BETWEEN THE TWO 
HOUSES. 



98 



GARDENING FOE PLEASURE. 



CHAPTEE XXX. 

GREENHOUSES OR PITS, WITHOUT ARTIFICIAL HEATING. 

The directions given for heating greenhouses by hot 
water or by flues, apply of course only to sections of the 
country where the temperature during the winter months 
makes heating a necessity. In many of the southern 
states there is no need of artificial heat. A greenhouse 
tightly glazed and placed against a building where it is 
sheltered from the north and north-west will keep out 
frost when the temperature does not fall lower than 25 
degrees above zero, and if light wooden shutters are used 
to cover the glass, all those classed as "greenhouse" 
plants will be safe even at 10 
degrees lower, provided, of 
course, that the conservatory 
is attached to the dwelling, 
as shown in fig. 38. Another 
cheap and simple method 
of keeping plants during 
winter in mild latitudes is by 46.-su*ken pit. 

the use of the sunken pit or deep frame, which affords 
the needed protection even more completely than the eleva- 
ted greenhouse. This is formed by excavating the soil to 
the depth of from 18 to 36 inches, according to the size 
of the plants it is intended to contain. A convenient 
width is 6 feet, the ordinary length of a hot-bed sash, 
and of such length as may be desired. Great care must 
be taken that the ground is such that no "Water will stand 
in the pit ; if the soil is moist it should be drained. The 
sides of the pit may be either walled up by a 4 or 8-inch 
course of brick work, or planked up as may be preferred, 
but in either case the back wall should be raised about 
eighteen inches, and the front about six inches above the 




COMBINED CELLAR AND GREENHOUSE. 99 



surface, in order to give the necessary slope to receive the 
sun's rays and to shed the water. A section of such a 
pit is shown in fig. 46. If a pit of this kind is made in 
a dry and sheltered position, and the glass covered by 
light shutters of half -inch boards, it may be used to keep 
all the hardier class of greenhouse plants, even in locali- 
ties where the thermometer falls to zerc 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

COMBINED CELLAR AND GREENHOUSE. 

In connection with the description of the cold pit or 
greenhouse without fire heat, may be mentioned the com- 
bined cellar and greenhouse. Many years ago an acci- 
dental circumstance gave me an opportunity of testing 
the utility of such a structure. An excavation of 20 feet 
by 40 had been made 7 feet deep, and walled up with 
stone and beams laid across preparatory to placing a 
building upon it, when the owner changed his plans and 
found himself with this useless excavation within a dozen 
yards of his costly residence. There seemed to be no al- 
ternative but to fill it up or plank it over, but both plans 
were objectionable, and in discussing how to get out of 
the difficulty, I suggested erecting a low-roofed green- 
house over it, as the owner had a taste for cultivating 
plants. This suggestion was followed, and the walls were 
raised one foot above the surface and a span-roofed green- 
house erected over it. 

My idea, (which was found to be nearly correct), was, 
that the large volume of air in the excavation would at 
no season go below 40°, and be sufficient to keep the up- 
per or greenhouse portion of the structure above the 



100 



GAEDENTNG FOE PLEASUEE. 



freezing point in the coldest weather. This it did com- 
pletely when the glass was covered at night with shut- 
ters ; and the plants with which it was filled, of a kind 
requiring a low temperature, kept in better health than 
if they had been grown in a greenhouse haying fire heat. 

Now, although I have never seen such a combination 
since, I am satisfied that in favorable circumstances such 
a structure might be made of great utility and at a 
trifling cost, for as it dispenses with heating apparatus, 
which usually is more than half of the whole cost in all 
greenhouses, the use of a cellar and greenhouse could be 
had at probably less than the cost of an ordinary green- 
house ; and for half hardy plants — plants that will do 
well in winter if kept only above the freezing point — such 
a greenhouse will be better for many of them than any 
kind of greenhouse heated by fire heat. All kinds of 
Eoses, Camellias, Azaleas, Zonal Geraniums, Violets, 
Cape Jessamines, Carnations, Abutilons, Verbenas, Prim- 
ulas, Stevias, and, in short, all plants known as cool 
greenhouse plants, will keep in a healthy, though nearly 
dormant condition, during the winter months, but they 
will flourish with greatly increased vigor at their natural 
season of growth, and flowering as spring advances. Be- 
sides, the cellar may be used for the ordinary purposes of 
such a place ; or if exclusively for horticultural purposes, 
no better place can be had for keeping all deciduous 
hardy or half hardy plants, Hyacinths in pots to start to 
flower, or any bulbs of similar nature. The great point 
to be observed is that the soil where such a structure is 
to be erected is entirely free from water, or if not so nat- 
urally, must be made entirely dry by draining. 

The style that I think would suit best for general pur- 
poses would be twelve feet in width, and of any length 
desired. The excavation should not be less than seven 
feet deep, walled up to about one foot above the surface. 
When complete it would' show something like the section 



COMBINED CELLAR A^D GEEEKHOUSE. 101 



in fig. 47. If the glass roof is made fixed it should have 
ventilating sashes 3x3, at intervals of six or nine feet on 
each side of the roof ; if of sashes, they should be seven 
feet long by three feet wide, every alternate one being 
arranged to move for ventilation in the usual way. The 
position of the structure would be best with its ends north 




Fig. 47. — GREEXHOUSE A2sD CELLAR COMESED. 



and south. The shutters for covering the glass at night 
should be made of light half-inch pine boards, three feet 
wide by seven feet long. 

It will be understood that the advantage of this com- 
bination of cellar and greenhouse over the ordinary cold 
pit is that the air of the greenhouse is warmed or equal- 
ized by mixing with the atmosphere of the cellar, which 
will rarely be less than 40°. For the same reason, if a 
high temperature by fire heat were wanted, say 70°, this 
large body of air from below of 40° would make it diffi- 
cult to obtain it. It will be necessary, of course, to have 
the flooring boards covering the cellar wide enough apart 
to freely allow the passage of the air; this will at the same 
time give light enough for any operations necessary to be 
done in the cellar. 



102 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



CHAPTEK XXXII. 

HOT-BEDS. 

The sunken pit described on page 98 may be readily 
converted into a hot-bed ; all that is necessary to do be- 
ing to place hot manure or other heating material in the 
pit and tread it moderately firm with the feet. The ma- 
nure should fill the pit to the depth of two feet, and then 
be covered with five or six inches of light rich soil, on 
which to sow the seed. This sunken pit prevents the 
escape of heat from the manure much better than when 
the hot-bed is made on the surface in the usual way. 
The preparation of the heating material for the hot-bed 
requires some attention. It should be manure fresh from 
the horse-stable, and when they can be procured, it is 
better to mix it with about an equal bulk of leaves from 
the woods. If the weather is very cold, the bulk of ma- 
nure must be of good size, from five to six wagon loads, 
thrown in a compact conical heap, else the mass may be 
so chilled that fermentation cannot take place and no 
heat generated. If a shed is convenient, the manure 
may be placed there, especially if the quantity is small, 
to be protected from cold until the heat begins to rise. 
The heap should be turned and well broken up before 
being used for the hot-beds, so that the rank steam may 
escape and the manure become of the proper (C sweet- 
ened 99 condition for the healthy germination of the seeds. 
After the manure has been packed in the pit to the depth 
and in the manner described, the sashes should be placed 
on the frame and kept close until the heat is again gen- 
erated in the hot-bed. Now plunge a thermometer into 
the manure, and if all is right it will indicate 100 degrees 
or more, but this is yet too hot as bottom heat for the 
growth of seeds or plants, and a few days of delay must 



HOT-BEDS. 



103 



be allowed until the thermometer indicates a falling of 
10 or 15 degrees, then the soil may be placed upon the 
manure and the seeds sown, or plants set out in the hot- 
bed. Amateurs are apt to be impatient in the matter of 
hot-beds, and often lose their first crop by sowing or 
planting before the first violent heat has subsided. An- 
other very common mistake is, in beginning too early in 
the season. In this latitude nothing is gained by begin- 
ning before the first week in March, and the result will 
be very nearly as good if not begun until a month later. 
There are two or three important matters to bear in 
mind in the use of hot-beds. It is indispensable for 
safety to cover the glass at night with shutters or mats 
until all danger of frost is over, for it must be remem- 
bered that the contents of a hot-bed are always tender 
from being forced so rapidly by the heat below, and that 
the slightest frost will kill them. Again, there is danger 
of overheating in day-time by a neglect to ventilate when 
the sun is shining. As a general rule it will be safe in 
all the average days of March, April, and May, to have 
the sash in the hot-bed tilted up from an inch to three 
inches at the back from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Much will, 
of course, depend upon the activity of the heating ma- 
terial in the hot-bed, the warmth of the weather, and the 
character of the plants in the bed ; so that we can only 
give a loose general rule. Numbers of our amateur 
friends come to us every season lamenting that them- 
selves or their men in charge had omitted to ventilate 
their hot-bed, and on their return home from business at 
night, found all the contents had been "boiled" up. 
Or the complaint may be on the other extreme, that the 
plants are frozen through neglect to cover them at night. 
A hot-bed requires a certain amount of attention, which 
must be given at the right time, or failure is certain. 



104 



GARDEKIKG FOR PLEASURE. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

SHRUBS, CLIMBERS, AND TREES. 

A place is seldom so small that a few choice shrubs 
cannot appropriately find room, and in which climbers 
are not desirable, while in the larger places these become 
important to its proper ornamentation. Whether its size 
admits of the use of trees or not, both deciduous and 
evergreen shrubs, climbers as well as evergreen trees of 
low growth, are indispensable. We here append a list of 
the leading kinds in each class, but which by no means 
exhausts the number of desirable varieties ; for the oth- 
ers reference may be made to the catalogues of the prin- 
cipal nurseries, where also will be found descriptions of 
those here named. 

HARDY DECIDUOUS SHRUBS. 

Amygdalus nanafl. pi. Flowering Almond. 

JEsculus parviflora Dwarf Horsechestnut. 

Berberis vulgaris , ... Barberry. 

" " var. purpurea Purple Barberry. 

Calycanthus floridus Sweet-scented Shrub. 

Chionanthus Yirginica Fringe Tree. 

Cytisus elongatus Laburnum. 

Cotoneaster microphylla Small-leaved Cotoneaster. 

Crataegus Pyracantha .Pyracanth Thorn. 

" oxyacanthafl, pi. Hawthorn double white. 

'* " cocciueafl.pl " " Scarlet. 

Clethra alnifolia White Alder. 

Deutzia scabra Rough Deutzia. 

" crenatafl.pl Double u 

" gracilis Slender " 

Eiionymus atropurpurcus Burning Bush. 

" latifolius Broad-leaved do. 

Forsythia viridissima Q Golden Bell: 

Halesia tetraptera Silver " 

HiUscus SyHacusfl, pi Rose of Sharon, double. 

Hydrangea paniculat a grandtiflora Great-panicled Hydrangea, 

" EoHerma Common " 

M Japonica * Japan M 

Kerria Japonica Japan Globe-flower. 

Lonicera Tartarica Tartarian Honeysuckle. 



SHRUBS, CLIMBERS, AND TREES. 



105 



Magnolia glauca Sweet Bay Magnolia. 

4 4 conspicua Yulan Tree. 

44 Soulangeana Soulanges' Magnolia. 

PhUadelpItus coronarius Mock Orange. 

44 nanus 4 4 4 4 Dwarf. 

Ribes aureum Missouri Currant. 

44 Gordonianum Gordon's 44 

Syringa vulgaris Common Lilac. 

4 4 4k alba White 44 

44 Persica Persian 44 

44 4 4 alba 4 4 4 4 White. 

Spircea prunifolia ,fl. pi Plum-leaved Spiraea. 

44 callosa and var. alba F]at-topped 44 

44 Reevesii j\. pi Lance-leaved 44 

44 Douglasii Douglas' 44 

44 hypeincifolia St. Peter's Wreath. 

Viburnum Opulus Snowball. 

44 plication Dwarf Snowball. 

Weigela rosea Bush-Honeysuckle, Rose. 

4 4 4 4 fol. var 44 44 Variegated.. 

44 nivea 44 44 White. 

44 amabalis 4 4 4 4 Lovely. 

44 Deboisw.nna 44 4 4 Debois'. 

Azalea Pontica, hybrids Belgian Azaleas. 

Cercis Japonica Japan Judas Tree. 

Pyrus Japonica. .Japan Quince. 

Prunus triloba Flowering Plum. 

Stuartia pe?itagynia Stuartia. 

Symphoricarpus racemosus Snowberry. 

HAEDT EVERGREEN SHRUBS. 

Andromeda Jloribunda Free-flowering Andomeda. 

Buxus sempervirens arborea. Tree-Box. 

Biota orimtalis Eastern Arbor- Vitae. 

Cephalotazus Fortunii 

Daphne Cneorum Garland Flower. 

Ilex opaca American Holly. 

Juniperus communis var. Suecica Sweedish Juniper. 

4 4 4 4 4 C Hibernica Irish 44 

4 4 oblonga pendula Weeping 4 4 

4 4 squamata Scaled J uniper. 

44 prostrata Prostrate 44 

Kalmia latifolia American Laurel. 

Podoearpus Japonica Japan Yew. 

Retinispora obtusa Obtuse-leaved Retinispora. 

" phimosa aurea Golden -plumed " 

Rhododendron CatavMense, hybrids Rhododrendons. 



106 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



Taxus baccata, var. Canadensis American Tew. 

44 44 4 4 erecta Upright 44 

Thuja occidentalis American Arbor-yitse. 

44 44 var. Sibirica . . . . ...Siberian " M 

44 44 44 plicata Plicate 44 44 

44 44 11 nana Dwarf " 41 

HAEDT EVERGREEN TREES OF MEDIUM SIZE. 

Abies Canadensis Hemlock Spruce. 

" " var. Sargenti Sargent's 44 

44 excelsa Norway 44 

• 4 44 var. Gregoi*yana Gregory's 44 

44 " " pygmcea Dwarf 44 

44 44 44 inverta Inverted 44 

44 nigra pumila Dwarf Black Spruce. 

44 Fraseri var. Hudsonica . . Hudson's Bay Fir. 

4 4 pectinata Euro pean Silver Fir. 

44 44 var. fastigiata ...Erect 4 4 4 4 

44 Pichta Siberian 4 4 4 4 

Juniperus Virginiana Red Cedar. 

Pinus Strobus White Pine. 

44 Cembra Swiss Stone Pine. 

44 pumilio Dwarf Pine. 

4 4 Austriaca Austrian 4 4 

HARDT CLIMBERS. 

Ampelopsis quinquefolia Virginia Creeper. 

44 tricuspidata, (Vietchii) Vietch's 44 

Akebia quinata Akebia. 

Aristolochia Sipho . Dutchman's Pipe. 

Bignonia grandiflora Large-flowered Trumpet vine. 

Clematis Flammula Virgin's Bower. 

44 ViticeUa 44 44 

44 azurea, and the various hybrids. 

Hedera Helix European Ivy. 

This in its many varieties is scarcely hardy at New York. 

Lonicera sempervirens Trumpet Honeysuckle. 

4 4 Japonica Japan 4 4 

44 44 var. aurea Golden 44 

4 4 Periclymenum English Woodbine. 

4 4 4 4 var. Belgica Dutch Honeysuckle. 

* 44 HaUii Hall's 44 

Tecoma radicam Trumpet Creeper. 

Wistaria frutescens American Wistaria. 

44 Sinensis Chinese 44 

4 4 44 var. alba White 44 

44 44 44 AUerdi. Allen's « 

44 magnifica Magnificent 44 



HARDY HERBACEOUS PERENNTALS. 107 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

HARDY HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS. 



Herbaceous perennials include those hardy plants, the 
stems of which die down at the approach of winter, or 
earlier if they have completed their growth ; the roots 
being hardy, they remain in the same place for several 
years in succession. Plants of this class were formerly 
more popular than they have been of late years, the taste 
for brilliant bedding effects having caused these former 
favorites to be neglected. Recently the taste for peren- 
nials has revived, and while they cannot serve as substi- 
tutes for what are known as bedding plants, they are ex- 
ceedingly useful for those who wish to have flowers with 
but little trouble, as most of them can remain for three 
or four years without requiring any other care than to 
keep them clear of weeds. When the clumps become too 
large they require to be lifted, divided, and re-set in fresh 
soil. For the best results it is advisable to re-set most of 
them every third year, while some may remain in place 
indefinitely, taking care to give them a yearly manuring, 
as the vigorous growing ones soon exhaust the soil imme- 
diately around them. In setting out these plants, the 
taller growing kinds should be placed at the rear of the 
border, or in the center if the bed is to be seen from both 
sides, while those of the lowest growth are to be placed 
at the edge, and those of intermediate size are to be 
placed between. A proper selection of these plants will 
give a succession from early spring until frost stops all 
bloom. Many of these perennials are unchanged from 
their natural state, but bloom in our borders just as they 
appeared in their native woods and hills in different parts 
of the world, and seem to show no disposition to "break" 



108 



GABDEZvCsG FOR PLEASURE, 



or deviate from their normal form, notwithstanding they 
have been in cultivation for a century or two. On the 
other hand many have, by sporting, or by hybridizing, 
and crossing, as in the case of peonies, phloxes, irises, 
and others, produced many florists varieties, vrhich show 
forms and colors not found in the native state of the 
plants, and the frequent occurrence of double flowers 
anions them shows that cultivation has not been without 
its influence. 

With such a number to select from, it is difficult to 
make a list of 25, or even 50, and not leave out many de- 
sirable kinds. Those in the following list are all of gen- 
erally admitted excellence, and are usually to be obtained 
from florists and nurserymen. 

It may be added here that there is no part of the coun- 
try which does not afford wild flowers of sufficient beauty 
to merit a place in the garden, and most of them, except 
perhaps those which naturally grow in a deep shade, will 
grow larger and bloom finer in a rich border than in their 
native localities. 

Perennials are propagated by division of the clumps, 
by cuttings of the stems, and sometimes of the roots, 
and by seeds. In many cases the seeds are very slow of 
germination unless sown as soon as ripe. As most of 
them do not bloom until the seedlings have made one 
year's growth, the seeds should be sown in a reserve bed, 
from which at the end of the first summer, or in the fol- 
lowing spring, they may be transplanted to the place 
where they are to flower. It is well to give the seedlings 
some protection the first winter, not because they are not 
hardy, but to prevent them from being thrown out of the 
soil by frequent freezing and thawing. A covering of 
evergreen boughs is most suitable, but if these are not at 
hand, use coarse hay or other litter, first laying down 
some brush, to keep the. covering from matting down 
upon them. 



HAKDY HERBACEOUS PEREXXIALS. 



109 



Aconitum Napellus Monkshood. 

variegatum Variegated Monkshood. 

Anemone Japonica Japan Windfl o wer. 

" var. Honorine Jobert White Japan " 

" Pulsatilla Pasque Flower. 

Aquilegia alpina Alpine Columbine. 

44 carrulea Rocky Mt. " 

' ' chrysantha Golden-spurred Columbine. 

•< vulgaris Garden 44 

AstiTbe Japonica (Incorrectly Spiraea.) 

Asperula odorata Woodruff. 

Baptisiu australis False Indigo. 

Campanula Carpathica Carpathian Harebell. 

" persieifolia Peach-leaved " 

" grandiflora Great-flowered 4 1 

and others. 

Cassia ALarilandiea Wild Senna. 

Clematis erecta Upright Clematis. 

" integrifolia Entire-leaved " 

Colchicum autumnale Meadow Saffron. 

Convallaria majalis Lily of the Valley. 

Delphinium elatum Bee Larkspur. 

nudicaule Scarlet " 

and others. 

Dianthus plumarius Garden Pink. 

" superbus Fringed " 

Dicentra eximia Plumy Dicentra. 

" spectabilis Bleeding Heart. 

Dirtamnus FraxineVa Fraxinella. 

Dodecatheon Jleadia Am. Cowslip. 

Eranthis hiemalis Winter Aconite. 

Erica carnea Winter Heath. 

Funkia ovata , Blue Day Lily. 

" Japonica Japan " " 

Gypsophila paniculata Panicled Gypsophila. 

HeUeborus niger % Christmas Rose. 

Eepatica triloba Liver-leaf. 

" « fl.pl Double do. 

Iberis Gibraltarica Gibraltar Candytuft. 

4 4 sempervirens Perennial * ' 

Iris Germanica German Flower de Luce. 

" Iberica Iberian " " " 

" pumila Dwarf " 14 " 

and many others of a great range of colors. 

Liatris spicata Blazing Star. • 

44 squarrosa . 44 44 

and others. 



110 



GARDENING for pleasure. 



Lilium auratum Gold-banded Lily, 

this, with many other Japanese species in the catalogues, is perfectly 
hardy, and there should be a good collection of them in every garden. 

Linum perenne Perennial Flax. 

Lobelia cardi?ialis Cardinal Flower. 

This native, (also its hybrids), does perfectly well in the drier soil of 
the garden. 

Lupinus polyphyllus Many-leaved Lupine. 

Lychnis Ghalcedonica Scarlet Lychnis, 

and several others. 

Lysimachia nwnmularia Mon ey wort. 

Mertensia Virginica Virginia Lungwort. 

Myosotis palustris Forget-me-not. 

" Azorica „ Azorian Forget-me-not. 

" dissitiflora Early 11 " " 

Narcissus bijlorus Primrose Peerless. 

" poeticus Poet's Narcissus. 

" JonquiUa Jonquil. 

4 ' Pseudo-narcissus Daffodil, 

in double and single varieties. 

(Enothera Missow-iensis Missouri Evening Primrose. 

Pceonia officinalis Common Paeony, 

and the various hydrids of this and other species, of which there are 
many fine named sorts. 

Pceonia tenuifolia Fennel-leaved Paeony. 

M Moutan Tree " 

of which there are many named varieties. 

Papaver cn^ientale Oriental Poppy. 

Pentsteinon grandijlorus Large-flowered Pentstemon. 

" barbatus var. Torreyi Torrey's " 

" Palmeri Palmer's " 

and several other hardy species. 

Phlox, herbaceous French Lilac. 

Under this head a great number of florists named varieties may be had. 
New ones are offered every year, and a good selection of colors makes a 
grand show. 

PMox subulata Moss Pink. 

Also the white variety. 

Polemonium reptans Jacob's Ladder. 

4 1 ccewleum Greek Valerian. 

Pi'imidaveHs Eng. Cowslip. 

This and the Polyanthus varieties need a moist and shady place. P, 
cortusoides is hardy, and P. Japonica probably so. 

Pyrethrum cameum Rosy Pyre thrum, 

the new double varieties. 

Saxifraga cramfolia Thick-leaved Saxifrage. 

u cordifolia Heart-leaved " 



HARDY HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS. Ill 



Sedum acre Stone crop. 

" Sieboldii (and var.) Siebold's Stone crop. 

" pulcheUum Beautiful " " 

M spectabUe Showy " " 

and a large number of others, presenting a great variety in foliage and 

flowers. 

Sempervivutn arachnoideum Cobweb Houseleek. 

u calcaratum Purple-tipped " 

" (ectorum Common " 

Of these curious plants there are more than 50 species in cultivation, 
and all perfectly hardy ; useful on rock-work. 

Spircea jilipendula, (and double) Dropwort. 

" palmata Palmate Spiraea. 

" TJlmaria Queen of the Meadow. 

" venusta Queen of the Prairie. 

Symphytum officinale var Variegated Comfrey. 

Thalictrum minus Maiden-hair Meadow Rue. 

Tritoma uvaria, (and vars.) Red-hot Poker, 

needs covering in winter with litter. 

Tunica Saxifraga Rock Tunica. 

Yucca Jilamentosa Bear-Grass. 

PERENNIAL ORNAMENTAL GRASSES. 

1. Arundo Donax Great Reed. 

2. " M versicolor Variegated Reed. 

3. " conspicua Silvery " 

4. Enanthxcs Eavennce Ravenna grass. 

5. Mdalia Japonica var Japan Eulalia. 

6. Festuca glauca Blue Fescue. 

7. Gynerium argenteum Pampas grass. 

8. Panicum virgatum Wand-like Panic. 

9. Phalaris arundinacea picta Ribbon grass. 

10. Stipa pennata Feather grass. 

In the climate of New York, Nos. 1, 2 and 7 need protection ; Nos. 
1 and 2 by litter over the roots, and No. 7 by covering it with a cask or 
box. In the order of their hight, No. 6 is 6 inches, 9 and 10 a foot, 5 
and 8, 3 to 4 feet, and 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 from 6 to 12 feet, according to the 
age of the plants. 



112 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



CHAPTEE XXXV. 



ANNUAL FLOWERING PLANTS. 



To make a selection from the bewildering number of 
varieties now offered in our seed catalogues, is an inter- 
esting, though it may be sometimes rather a perplexing 
operation. It is not very easy to give specific advice in 
the matter, as tastes are so varied. We would say, in 
general terms though, be shy of "novelties" until you 
see them recommended in the lists the second year ; you 
may then know that their merits have been tested and 
they are given permanent place. We have been import- 
ers of all such "novelties" for over twenty years, and 
think ourselves lucky if we get one good thing for every 
nineteen worthless ones we try. Still, to get the good 
things, all that are offered must be tried, and subjected 
to the sifting process — separating the chaff from the 
wheat. We can only use space to enumerate a few gen- 
erally favorite kinds, which we give in the list below; this 
comprises such as are of easiest cultivation, and are 
most valued for the beauty or fragrance of their flowers. 



Asters, 
Balsams, 
Candytufts, 
Carmas, 

*Canary Bird Flower, 
Carnations, 
Clarkias, 
Cockscombs, 
Collinsia, 
^Convolvulus, 
*Cypress Vine, 



Escholtzia, 
Geraniums, 
Globe Amaranths, 
Helichrysums, 
Ice Plant, 
^Ipomaea, 
Lobelia, 
Lupines, 
Lychnis, 
Marigolds,. 
Mignonnette, 

Delphiniums,(Larkspur) Mimosa, (Sensitive-plant) Zinnias, 
Dianthus, 

Those Marked * are climbers, 



Nasturtiums, 
Nemophila, 
Pansy, 
Petunia, 

Phlox Drummondii, 
Poppy, 
Portulaca, 
Scabiosa, 
Schizanthus, 
*Sweet Peas, 
Stocks, 



I have used the popular. and scientific names indis- 
criminately in the way they are given in most seed cata- 



ANNUAL FLOWERING PLANTS. 113 

logues, as this will facilitate reference to them for 
descriptions. The rule for the sowing of seeds already 
given in the chapter " Propagation of Plants by Seeds," 
applies to sowing the seeds of annuals whether in the hot- 
bed or greenhouse, to obtain plants to set in the open 
border, or sowing at once in the open border. The cov- 
ering of the seeds should in every case be of a light ma- 
terial. Thus, if the soil of your flower-garden is hard 
and rough, be sure that the surface on which the delicate 
seeds are to be sown is made smooth and level, and that 
it is covered with a fine light soil, such as leaf-mold, in 
the manner described in the chapter referred to. Proba- 
bly three-fourths of all the flower-seeds that are sown by 
amateurs never germinate, and for no other reason than 
that they have not been properly treated. One sows a 
tropical seed, such as Portulaca, in March, and wonders 
that it does not start to grow; by May, the time it should 
be sown in the ground, the spot has become covered with 
weeds, and the tiny plant, if it comes now at all, is 
choked and killed. Another reverses the order and 
wonders that the hardy Pansy seeds which are sown in 
June, fail to grow, or if they grow, fail to bloom in the 
dog days. Our seed catalogues are nearly all defective in 
not giving more specific directions for the culture of an- 
nual plants ; if the space used for description of form and 
color was devoted to telling the time and manner of sow- 
ing, it would be of far more benefit to the amateur buyer, 
but nearly all follow the English practice of giving de- 
scriptions of varieties only. There the necessity for such 
information is less, the people being better informed as to 
flower culture, and the climate is also more congenial for 
germination of most seeds. 



114 



GARDEsrrrra for pleasuee. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

FLOWERS WHICH WILL GROW IN THE SHADE. 

There are few plants that will flower in places from 
which sunshine is entirely excluded. Some plants will 
grow well enough, developing shoots and leaves, but 
flowers of nearly all kinds must have some sunshine. Of 
those that do well and flower when planted out in the 
open ground where sunlight only comes for two or three 
hours during the day, may be named the following : 
Calceolarias, Fuchsias, Lobelias, Herbaceous Phloxes, 
Pansies, Forget-me-nots, Lily of the Yalley, and other 
herbaceous plants and shrubs whose native habitat is 
shady woods. Perhaps a better effect is produced in 
such situations by ornamental leaved plants, such as Co- 
leuses of all kinds, Amaranths, Achyranthes, Caladi- 
ums, Cannas, and other plants with high colored or orna- 
mental leaves. "With these may be combined the differ- 
ent styles of white or gray-leaved plants, such as Centau- 
reas, Cinerarias, Gnaphaliums — plants known under the 
general popular term of " Dusty Millers." For our own 
part we much prefer to devote shaded situations to such 
plants, rather than to see the abortive attempts to produce 
flowers made by plants in positions where there is no sun- 
shine. It may be here remarked that the cultivator of 
plants in rooms should understand the necessity of sun- 
light to plants that are to flower, and endeavor to get 
them as near as possible to a window having an eastern or 
a southern aspect. The higher the temperature, the more 
plants suffer for the want of light. Many plants, such 
as Geraniums, Fuchsias, or Eoses, might remain in a 
temperature of 40 degrees, in a cellar for example, away 
from direct light for months without material injury, 
while if the cellar contained a furnace keeping up a tern- 



INSECTS. 



115 



perature of 70 degrees, they would all die before the win- 
ter was ended, particularly if the plants were of a half 
hardy nature. If tropical species, they might stand it 
better, but all plants quickly become enfeebled when 
kept at high temperature and away from the light. 



CHAPTER XXXVIL 

INSECTS. 

When insects attack plants in the greenhouse, parlor, 
or anywhere under cover, we can generally manage to 
get them under control, but when they attack plants in 
the open air, it is according to our experience, difficult 
to destroy them. Insects are injurious to plants in the 
open air in two principal ways : some attack the branches 
and leaves, and others infest the roots. When insects 
attack the roots of a plant, we have been able to do but 
little to stop their ravages. We can manage somewhat 
better with those attacking the leaves, but even this di- 
vision of the enemy is often too much for us. As a pre- 
ventive, we would strongly advise that birds of all kinds 
should be encouraged. Since the European sparrows 
have favored us with their presence in such numbers, in- 
sects of nearly all kinds have much decreased. Most 
people will remember the disgusting " measuring worm " 
that festooned the shade-trees in New York, Brooklyn, 
and other cities ten years ago ; these made their exit al- 
most in proportion to the increase of sparrows, and now 
hardly one is to be seen. The same is true of the Eose 
slug. In my rose grounds, a few years ago, we were 
obliged to employ a number of boys for weeks during the 
summer to shake oft and kill the Eose slug in order to 



116 



GARDENING FOB PLEASURE. 



keep the plants alive, but since we have had the sparrows 
in such numbers, hardly one of these pests is now seen. 
An examination of the crop of a sparrow killed in July, 
showed that it contained Eose slugs, Aphis, or green-fly, 
and the seeds of chickweed and other plants, proving 
beyond question the fact that they are promiscuous feed- 
ers. The Eose slug, (Selandria rosce), referred to above, 
is a light green, soft insect, varying from *| 16 of an inch 
to nearly an inch in length. There are apparently two 
species or varieties, one of which eats only the cuticle of 
the lower side of the leaf, the other eats it entire. The 
first is by far the most destructive here. In a few days 
after the plants are attacked they appear as if they had 
been burned. An excellent application for the prevention 
of the ravages of the Eose slug is whale-oil soap dissolved 
in the proportion of one lb. to eight gallons of water, this, 
if steadily applied daily for a week with a syringe on Eose 
plants, before the leaf has developed in spring, will en- 
tirely prevent the attacks of the insect. But we find 
that if the slug once gets fairly at work, this remedy is 
powerless unless used so strong as to injure the leaves. 

The Eose-Bug, (Macrodactylus sulspinosus), or Eose 
Chaffer, gets its name from the preference it shows for 
the buds and blossoms of the Eose, though it is equally 
destructive to the Dahlia, Aster, Balsam, and many 
other flowers, and especially grape blossoms. All the or- 
dinary remedies seem to fail with the Eose-bug, and it 
can only be stopped by picking it off by hand. 

Green-Fly, or Apliis, is one of the most common, but 
fortunately most easily destroyed, of any insect that in- 
fests plants, either in-doors or out. In our greenhouses, as 
already stated, we fumigate twice a week, by burning 
about half a pound of refuse tobacco stems, (made 
damp), to every 500 square feet of glass surface, but in 
private greenhouses or on plants in rooms, fumigating is 
often impracticable. Then the tobacco stems can be 



tN'SECTS. 



117 



used by steeping one pound in five gallons of water, un- 
til the water gets to be the color of strong tea, This 
liquid applied over and under the leaves with a syringe, 
will destroy the insect quite as well as by fumigating, 
only in either case the application should be made before 
the insects are seen, to prevent their coming rather than 
to destroy them when established ; for often by neglect 
they get a foothold in such legions that all remedies be- 
come ineffectual to dislodge them. Another means of 
preventing the green-fly is to apply tobacco in the shape 
of dust. The sweepings of tobacco warehouses, which 
can be found for sale in most seed or agricultural 
establishments, at a cost of five to ten cents per 
pound. This applied once or twice a week to an ordinary 
sized private greenhouse, would effectually prevent any 
injury from green-fly. No special quantity of this need 
be prescribed, all that is necessary is to see that it is so 
dusted on that it reaches all parts of the plant and on 
both sides of the leaves. It is best to slightly syringe 
the plants beforehand, so that the dust will adhere to the 
leaves. When applied to plants out-doors, it should be 
done in the morning when the dew is on. Fruit-trees 
of many kinds, shrubs, and Eoses of all kinds, out of 
doors, are particularly liable to injury from some species 
of Aphis, but the application of tobacco dust, if made in 
time, will be found a cheap and effectual remedy. 

Ground or Blue Aphis, is a close relative of the pre- 
ceeding, but it gets its living from the roots down in the 
soil, while the Green Aphis feeds in the air on the leaves. 
The Blue Aphis attacks a great many varieties of plants, 
particularly in hot, dry weather, and whenever Asters, 
Verbenas, Petunias, Oentaureas, or such plants begin to 
droop, it will be found on examination, in three cases out 
of four, that the farthest extremities of their roots are 
completely surrounded by the Blue Aphis. The only 
remedy we have ever found for this pest is a strong de- 



118 GARDENING FOR PLEASURE, 

i ( 

coction of tobacco, made so strong as to resemble strong 
coffee in color. The earth around the plants must be 
soaked with this so that the lowest roots will be reached. 
The tobacco water will not hurt the plants, but will be 
fatal to the insect, and if it has not already damaged the 
roots to too great an extent, may prove a remedy. 

Ants. — These are not usually troublesome unless in 
great numbers, yet when they appear in strong force they 
are often yery destructive. About the simplest method 
we have found to get rid of them, is to lay fresh bones 
around the infested plants ; they will leave everything 
to feed on these, and when thus accumulated may be 
easily destroyed. 

The Red Spider is one of the most insidious enemies 
of plants, both when under glass and in the open air in 
summer. It luxuriates in a hot and dry atmosphere, 
and the only remedy that I can safely recommend to am- 
ateurs, is copious syringings with water, if in the green- 
house, so that a moist atmosphere can be obtained. This, 
of course, is not practicable when plants are grown in 
rooms, and the only thing that can then be done is to 
sponge off the leaves. It is this insect, more than any 
thing else, that makes it so difficult to grow plants in the 
dry air of the sitting-room, as it may be sapping the 
life blood from a plant, and its owner never discover the 
cause of his trouble. It is so minute as hardly to be 
seen by the naked eye, but its ravages soon show, and if 
the leaves of your plants begin to get brown, an exami- 
nation of the under-surface of the leaf will usually reveal 
the little pests in great numbers. When they get thus 
established there is no remedy but to sponge the leaves 
thoroughly with water, or weak soapsuds. 

The Mealy Bug, as it is generally called, is a white 
mealy or downy-looking insect, which is often very trou- 
blesome among hot-house plants, but rarely does any 
harm amongst those that can live in a cool room, as no 



INSECTS. 



119 



doubt it is a native of some tropical country, and can 
only exist in such a temperature as is required by plants 
of that kind. There are various remedies used by florists, 
but the use of nearly all of them might do more harm 
than good in inexperienced hands, and I therefore advise 
that they should only be destroyed by being washed off 
such plants as Gardenias, or rubbed off of more tender 
leaved plants with a soft brush ; or where there are but 
few, they may be readily picked off by the use of a quill 
sharpened like a toothpick. 

Brown and WJiite Scale Insects. — These appear life- 
less, and adhere closely to the stems of such plants as 
Oleanders, Ivies, etc., and like the Mealy Bug are best 
destroyed by being washed or rubbed off. 

Tlirips. — This is an insect varying in color from light 
yellow to dark brown, and much more active in its move- 
ments than the Green-Fly, and more difficult to destroy ; 
when it once gets a foothold it is very destructive. It 
succumbs to tobacco, in any of the forms recommended 
for the destruction of Green-Fly, but not so readily. It 
luxuriates in shaded situations, and generally abounds 
where plants are standing too thickly together, or where 
ventilation or light is deficient. It may be safely as- 
serted that in any well regulated place where plants 
are kept, no injury from insects will ever become serious 
if due attention has been given to keeping the atmos- 
phere of the place moist, and using tobacco freely in any 
of the forms we have recommended. 

The Angle Worm. — This is the common worm seen 
in every soil in pots and in the open ground. It is 
harmless so far as feeding goes, for it seems never to 
touch plants as food, but it bores and crawls around in 
a way by no means beneficial to pot-grown plants ; it is, 
however, easily dislodged ; by slaking a quart of lime 
and adding water to make up ten gallons of the liquid, 
and watering the plants with it after it has become 



120 



GARDEiTC^G FOR PLEASURE. 



clear, the caustic qualities of tlie lime will "be quickly 
fatal to the worm. 



CHAPTER XXXVHL 

MILDEW. 

Mildew is a parasitical fungus, often seen on greenhouse 
and other plants, and is quickly destructive to their health. 
But as with all other plant troubles, it is best to prevent 
rather than cure. Care should be taken, particularly 
where roses or grape yines are grown under glass, as both 
of these are especially liable to be attacked, to avoid a 
rapid change of temperature, or a long exposure to sud- 
den chill by draughts in ventilating. As soon as spots 
of grayish-white appear on the leaves of roses or grape- 
vines, either out-doors or under glass, it is certain that 
mildew is present, but if it has not been neglected too 
long, the following preparation will usually be found a 
prompt remedy. Take three pounds each of flowers of sul- 
phur and quick-lime, put together and slake the lime, and 
add six gallons of water ; boil all together until it is re- 
duced to two gallons, allow the liquid to settle until it 
gets clear, then bottle for use. One gill only of this is 
to be mixed in five gallons of water, and syringed over 
the plants in the evening, taking care not to use it on the 
fruit when ripe, as it would communicate a taste and 
smell which would render it useless. Applied in this 
weak state, it does not injure the leaves, and yet has the 
power to destroy the low form of vegetable growth, which 
we call mildew. We apply it just as we do tobacco, once 
or twice a week, as a preventive, and we rarely have a 
speck of mildew. 



FBOZEN PLANTS. 



121 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

FROZEN PLANTS. 

When by any mishap the plants, whether in parlor or 
greenhouse, become frozen, either at once remove them, 
(taking care not to touch the leaves), to some place warm 
enough to be just above the point of freezing ; if there 
are too many to do that, get up the fire as rapidly as 
possible and raise the temperature. The usual advice is 
to sprinkle the leaves and shade the plants from the sun. 
We have never found either remedy of any avail with 
frozen plants, and the sprinkling is often a serious in- 
jury if done before the temperature is above the freezing 
point. In our experience with thousands of frozen plants, 
we have tried all manner of expedients, and found no 
better method than to get them out of the freezing at- 
mosphere as quickly as possible, and we have also found 
that the damage is in proportion to the succulent condi- 
tion of the plant, and the intensity of the freezing. Just 
what degree of cold plants in any given condition can en- 
dure without injury, we are unable to state. Plants are 
often frozen so that the leaves hang down, but when 
thawed out are found to be not at all injured ; at another 
time the same low temperature acting on the same kind 
of plants may kill them outright if they happen to be 
growing more thriftily, and are full of sap. When the 
frost is penetrating into a greenhouse or room in which 
plants are kept, and the heating arrangements are inade- 
quate to keep it out, the best thing to do is to cover the 
plants with paper, (newspapers), or sheeting ; thus pro- 
tected, most plants will be enabled to resist four or five 
degrees of frost ; paper is rather better than sheeting for 
this purpose. 
6 



122 



GARDEKIKG FOE PLEASURE. 



CHAPTER XL. 

MULCHING. 

Litter of any kind placed around newly planted trees 
to prevent evaporation from the soil, was the original 
meaning of mulch, but it is at present extended to in- 
clude a covering of the soil applied at any time, and for 
very different purposes. Good cultivators apply hay, 
straw, or other litter to the surface of the soil to protect 
the roots of certain plants against the action of frost, it 
being useful, not so much against freezing as to prevent 
the alternate freezing and thawing, that is apt to occur 
in our variable and uncertain climate, even in mid-win- 
ter. As mentioned under strawberry culture, the mulch 
applied in the fall protects the roots during. winter, it is 
allowed to remain on the bed where, if thick enough, it 
keeps down weeds, and prevents the evaporation of mois- 
ture from the soil during the dry time we are apt to have 
between the flowering and the ripening of the strawberry, 
Besides all this, it makes a clean bed for the fruit to rest 
upon, and should a driving shower come up as the fruit 
is ripening, there is no danger that the berries will be 
splashed with mud and spoiled. The utility of a mulch 
is not confined to the strawberry among fruits ; raspber- 
ries and currants are much benefitted by it, and by its 
use a gardener of my acquaintance succeeds in growing 
fine crops of the fine varieties of English gooseberries, a 
fruit with which very few succeed in our hot summers. 
Newly planted trees, whether of fruit or ornamental 
kinds, are much benefitted by a mulch, and its applica- 
tion often settles the question of success or failure. We 
have known a whole pear orchard to be mulched, and the 
owner thought its cost was more than repaid by saving 



MULCHING. 



123 



the fallen fruit from bruises. The rooting of a layer is 
by some gardeners thought to be facilitated by placing a 
flat stone oyer the buried branch ; the fact being that 
the stone acts as a mulch, and prevents the soil around 
the cut portion from drying out, and greatly favors the 
rooting process. Even in the vegetable garden, mulch- 
ing is found useful, especially with cauliflowers, which 
find our summers quite too dry. The material of the 
mulch is not of much importance, the effect being purely 
mechanical, one kind of litter will answer as well as an- 
other ; the material will be governed in great measure by 
locality ; those living near salt water will find salt-hay, 
as hay from the marshes is called, the most readily pro- 
cured ; those who live near pine forests use the fallen 
leaves, or pine needles as they are called ; in the grain 
growing districts straw is abundant, and nothing can be 
better ; it can be applied more thoroughly if run through 
a cutter, though the thrashing machine often makes it 
short enough. Leaves are nature's own mulch, and an- 
swer admirably ; if there is danger of their being blown 
away, brush laid over them, or even a little earth sprink- 
led on them will keep them in place. Tan-bark and saw- 
dust may serve for some uses, but they are very bad for 
strawberries, their finer particles being about as objec- 
tionable as the soil. One of the best materials to use for 
summer mulching is the green grass mowed from lawns. 
This applied to the thickness of two or three inches 
around the roots of all kinds of small fruits, will be 
found not only to greatly benefit the crop, particularly in 
dry weather, but will save greatly in labor by preventing 
the growth of weeds. One of our best private gardeners 
in the vicinity of New York has adopted this summer 
mulching with the grass from the lawn for nearly twenty 
years, and has succeeded in growing all kinds of small 
fruits in the highest degree of perfection. 



124 



GARDENING FOB PLEASURE. 



CHAPTER XLL 

ARE PLANTS IN ROOMS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH? 

The question whether plants may be safely grown 
in living rooms is now settled by scientific men, who 
show that whatever deleterious gases may be given 
out by plants at night they are so minute in quantity 
that no injury is ever done by their presence in the 
rooms and by being inhaled. Though we were glad 
to see the question disposed of by such authority, ex- 
perience had already shown that no bad effects ever 
resulted from living in apartments where plants were 
grown. Our greenhouses are one mass of foliage, and I 
much doubt if any healthier class of men can be found 
than those engaged in the care of plants. But timid per- 
sons may say that the deleterious gases are given out only 
at night, while our greenhouse operatives are only em- 
ployed in daylight. This is only true in part. Our 
watchmen and men engaged in attending to fires at 
night make the warm greenhouses their sitting-room and 
their sleeping-room, and I have yet to hear of the first 
instance where the slightest injury resulted from this 
practice. Many of our medical practitioners run in old 
ruts. " Some Solomon among them probably gave out this 
dogma a century ago, it was made the convenient scape- 
goat of some other cause of sickness, and the rank and 
file have followed in his train. A belieLin this error 
often consigns to the cellar, or to the cold winds of win- 
ter, the treasured floral pets of a household. 



SHADING. 



125 



CHAPTER XML 



SHADING. 



In mulching the object is to prevent evaporation from 
the soil, as well as to shield the roots from sudden 
changes of temperature ; it is often necessary to protect 
the whole plant in this respect, and this is accomplished 
by shading. Although on a large scale, we can do little 
in the way of shading plants in the open ground, yet the 
amateur will often find it of great utility, as screening 
will frequently save a recently transplanted plant, which 
without it would be quite ruined by a few hours' exposure 
to the sun. For shading small plants in the border, such 
as transplanted annuals, a few shingles will be found very 
useful, one or two of these can be stuck in the ground so 
as to completely protect the delicate plant and yet not 
deprive it of air. Six-inch boards of half -inch stuff 
nailed together to form a V shaped trough are very use- 
ful in the garden ; they are handy to place over small 
plants during cold nights, and may be turned over and 
set to make a screen against strong winds, or used for 
shading plants in rows. Seedlings often suffer from the 
heat of the sun in the middle of the day ; the seedlings 
of even the hardiest forest trees are very delicate when 
young. The seeds of such trees when sown naturally al- 
most always fall where the young plant will be shaded, 
and the amateur who experiments in this very interesting 
branch of horticulture, the raising of evergreen and de- 
ciduous trees and shrubs from seed, will find it necessary 
to imitate nature and protect his young seedlings from 
the intense heat of the sun. There are several ways of 
doing this ; if the seeds have been sown in an open bor- 
der, let him take twigs about a foot long, evergreen if 



126 



GARDENING TOR PLEASURE. 



they can be had, but if not, those from any deciduous 
tree, and stick them a few inches apart all over the bed. 
This will give the seedlings very much such a protection 
as they would naturally have had in the shade of other 
plants, and though evergreens will look better for a while, 
the dead leaves of deciduous twigs will give quite as use- 
ful a shade. It is always safer to sow seeds in a frame, 
as the young plants are then under more complete con- 
trol. Frames are easily shaded by means of a lattice 
made of common laths. Strips of inch stuff an inch and 
a half or two inches wide, are used for the sides of the 
lattice, and laths are nailed across as far apart as their 
own width. One lath being nailed on, another is laid 
down to mark the distance, the third one put down and 
nailed, and the second lath is moved along to mark the 
distance for the fourth, and so on. With a screen of this 
kind there is abundant light, but the sun does not shine 
long at a time on one spot, and the plants have a con- 
stantly changing sun and shade. This lath screen may 
be used for shading plants in the open ground if sup- 
ported at a proper hight above them. In a propagating 
house, where it is necessary, as it often is, to shade cut- 
tings, a lattice laid upon the outside of the glass answers 
a good purpose. The laths are sometimes tied together 
with strong twine, the cord answering the place of slats, 
and serving as a warp with which the laths are woven ; 
the advantage of a screen of this kind is that it can be 
rolled up. Plants kept in windows during the summer 
months will, if in a sunny exposure, require some kind 
of a shade, and if the one provided to keep the sun from 
the room shuts out too much light, or excludes air as 
well as sun, something must be provided which will give 
protection during the heat of the day, and still allow 
sufficient light and an abundant circulation of air. Any 
one with ingenuity can arrange a screen of white cotton 
cloth to answer the purpose. 



SHADING. 



127 



The old practice of stripping the greenhouse in sum- 
mer is falling into disuse, and by a proper selection of 
plants and sufficient shade, it is made as attractive then 
as at any other season, but even for tropical plants the 
glass must be shaded. For a small lean-to, a screen of 
light canvass or muslin arranged upon the outside, so 
that it may be wound up on a roller when not wanted 
will answer, and if it be desired to keep the house as cool 
as possible, this should be so contrived that there will be 
a space of six inches or so between that and the glass. 
But upon a large house, or one with a curvilinear roof, 
this is not so manageable, and the usual method is to coat 
the glass with some material which will obstruct a part 
of the light. The most common method is to give the 
outside of the glass a coat of ordinary lime whitewash ; 
this makes a sufficient shade, and is gradually dissolved 
by the rains, so that by autumn the coating is removed, 
or so nearly so that what remains may be readily washed 
off. A more pleasant effect is produced by spattering the 
glass with the same wash, which can be done by a dex- 
terous use of the brush and flirting it so as to leave the 
wash in numerous fine drops, like rain-drops. Others 
use whiting and milk for the same purpose. Whatever 
may be the means of effecting it, we find that in this lat- 
itude shading of some kind is required from about the 1st 
of May to the middle of September by nearly all plants 
grown under glass. Ferns, Lycopods, Caladiums, Primu- 
las, Fuchsias, Begonias, Gloxinias, Achimenes, Lobelias, 
Smilax, and plants of that character require the glass to be 
heavily shaded, while for Koses, Carnations, Bouvardias, 
Poinsettias, Geraniums of all kinds, and nearly all suc- 
culent plants, do not need so much. The method of 
spattering the glass outside with thin whitewash, allows 
the shading to be light or heavy, as required. When 
first done, it is spattered very thinly, merely to break the 
strong glare of the sun, just about thick enough to half 



128 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



cover the surface. As the season advances, the spatter- 
ing should be repeated to increase the shade, but at no 
time for the plants last mentioned do we entirely coyer 
the glass. In England, especially for fern houses, 
Brunswick green mixed with milk is used, to give a 
green shade, which is thought to be best suited to these 
plants. The blue glass for greenhouses which was so 
highly lauded a few years ago, has not met with much 
favor, but recent experiments in glazing with ground 
glass have given such results as to warrant a more careful 
investigation into the use of this material. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

THE LAW OF COLOR IN FLOWERS. 

I refer to this matter in the hope that it may be the 
means of saving some of my readers, not only from being 
duped and swindled, by a class of itinerant scamp's that 
annually reap a rich harvest in disposing of impossibili- 
ties in flowers, but that I may assure them of the utter 
improbability of their ever seeing such wonders as these 
fellows offer, thereby saving them from parting with 
money for worthless objects, and from the ridicule of 
their friends who are already better advised. This sub- 
ject cannot be too often brought before our amateur hor- 
ticulturists. Warnings are given year after year in lead- 
ing agricultural and other journals devoted to gardening, 
yet a new crop of dupes is always coming up who readily 
fall victims to the scoundrels who live upon their credu- 
lity. Not a season passes but some of these swindling 
dealers have the audacity to plant themselves right in 



THE LAW OF COLOR 1ST FLOWERS. 



129 



the business centers of our large cities, and hundreds of 
our sharp business men glide smoothly into their nets. 
The very men who will chuckle at the misfortunes of 
a poor rustic when he falls into the hands of a mock 
auctioneer, or a pocket-book dropper, will freely pay $10 
for a rose plant of which a picture has been shown them 
as having a blue flower ; the chance of its coming blue 
being about equal to the chance that the watch of the 
mock auctioneer will be gold. It has long been known 
among the best observers of such matters, that in certain 
families of plants, particular colors prevail, and that in 
no single instance can we ever expect to see blue, yellow, 
and scarlet colors in varieties of the same species. If any 
one at all conversant with plants will bring any family of 
them to mind, it will at once be seen how undeviating 
is this law. In the Dahlia we have scarlet and yellow, 
but no approach to blue, so in the Bose, Hollyhock, etc. 
Again in the Verbena, Salvia, etc., we have scarlet and 
blue, but no yellow ! If we reflect it will be seen that 
there is nothing out of the order of nature in this arrange- 
ment. We never expect to see among our poultry with 
their varied but somber plumage, any assume the azure 
hues of our spring Blue-bird, or the dazzling tints of the 
Oriole ; why then should we expect nature to step out 
of what seems her fixed laws, and give us a blue Rose, 
a blue Dahlia, or a yellow Verbena ? 



THE FRUIT GARDEN. 



PRUNING. 



133 



OHAPTEE XLIY. 

PRUNING. 

Though the chapter on pruning is placed at the com- 
mencement of that division of the work which treats 
upon fruits, the fact must not be lost sight of that prun- 
ing is often quite as necessary upon trees and shrubs cul- 
tivated for their flowers or foliage as upon those grown 
for their fruit. In pruning we cut away some portion of 
a tree, shrub, or other plant, for the benefit of that which 
remains, and whether performed upon a branch six inches 
through, or upon a shoot so tender as to be cut by the 
thumb-nail, is essentially the same. The operation, 
though very simple, is one which the amateur often 
fears to undertake, and having no confidence in his 
own ability, he often , employs some jobbing gar- 
dener, who has no fears on this or any other gar- 
dening matter. Pruning is done for various ends, 
and unless one has a definite reason for doing it, he had 
better leave it undone : ilany have an idea that pruning 
must, for some reason, be done every year, just as it used 
to be thought necessary for people to be bled every spring, 
whether well or ill. We prune to control the shape of a 
tree or shrub, and by directing the growth from one part 
to another, obtain a symmetrical form, especially in fruit 
trees, where it is desirable that the weight of fruit be 
equally distributed. In some trees where the fruit is 
grown only on the wood of the previous season, the bear- 
ing portions are each year removed further and further 
from the body of the tree ; in such cases a shortening of 
the growth each year will cause the formation of a com- 
pact head instead of the loose straggling that results 
when this is omitted. We prune to renew the vigor of a 
plant ; the inexperienced cannot understand how cutting 



134 



GARDEKIKG FOR PLEASURE* 



away a third, a half, or even more of a plant can improve 
it in vigor and fruitfulness, or abundance and size of 
flowers. Let us suppose that a stem which grew last year 
has 20 buds upon it; if this is allowed to take its own course 
in the spring, a few of the upper buds will push with 
great vigor, and form strong shoots; those below will 
make gradually weaker shoots, and for probably the low. r 
third of the stem the buds will not start at all; the most 
vigorous growth is always at the top, the buds there were 
the last formed in the previous summer, are the most 
excitable, and the soonest to grow the next spring, and 
getting the start of those below them, they draw the 
nourishment to themselves and starve the others. If, 
instead of allowing this stem to grow at will in this man- 
ner, it had been, before any of the buds started, cut 
back to leave only a few of the lower ones, those hav- 
ing an abundance of nutriment would push forth with 
great vigor and be nearly equal in size, while the flowers or 
fruit borne upon them would be greatly superior to those 
upon the unpruned stem. Any one can readily be con- 
vinced of the utility of pruning by taking two rose-bushes 
of equal size, leaving one without any pruning to take 
care of itself, and each spring cutting the other back se- 
verely, pruning away one-third or one-half of the wood 
that was formed the previous season. The result at the 
end of two years will be very striking. No general rule 
can be given for pruning ; the amateur should use his 
eyes, and* notice the habit of growth of his trees and 
shrubs. He will find that many, like the rose, produce 
their flowers upon the new wood of the present season, 
and that such plants are greatly benefitted by cutting 
back more or less each spring. But there are other 
plants for which tins treatment will not answer ; if we 
examine a horse-chestnut-tree, or a lilac-bush, and many 
others, we shall find that the flowers come from the large 
buds that were formed on the end of last season's growth, 



PRUNING. 



135 



and that to cut back such plants would be to remove all 
the flower-buds. With shrubs of this kind, all that need 
be done is to thin out the branches where they are too 
crowded. These examples will warn the novice against 
indiscriminate pruning, and unless as he stands before 
his shrub or tree, knife in hand, he knows why he is to 
prune and how, let him put his knife in his pocket, and 
give the plant the benefit of the doubt. While under 
the different fruits we can give directions for the partic- 
ular pruning required by each, the proper method of 
treating a miscellaneous collection of ornamental shrubs 
and trees can only be learned by observation. The term 
pruning is generally applied to the cutting away, in whole 
or in part, of the ripened wood, but much pruning may 
be done by the use of the thumb and finger ; this is 
termed pinching, and is practiced upon young shoots 
while they are yet soft. This most useful form of prun- 
ing allows us to control the form of a plant with the 
greatest ease, and is applied not only to soft-wooded 
plants, but to trees and shrubs, and may be so performed 
on these as to render nearly, if not quite, all pruning of 
ripened wood unnecessary. If a vigorous shoot has its 
end or "growing point " pinched out it will cease to 
elongate, but will throw out branches below, the growth 
of which may be controlled in the same manner; the 
blackberry illustrates the utility of this kind of pruning ; 
the rampant growing shoot which springs up from the 
root will, if left to itself, make a long cane six or eight 
feet high, and with a very few branches near the top ; if 
when this shoot has reached four, or at most five feet, 
its end be pinched off, it will then throw out numerous 
branches, and if the upper branches, when they reach the 
length of 18 inches, be " stopped," (as it is called), in a 
similar manner, by pinching, the growth will be directed 
to the lower ones, and by the end of the season instead 
of a long, unmanageable wand, there will be a well- 



136 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



branched bush which will bear its fruit all within reach. 
The grower of plants in pots is usually afraid to remove 
even a single inch of the stem, and the result is usually 
a lot of "leggy" specimens not worth the care that is 
otherwise bestowed upon them. Plants may be prevented 
from ever reaching this condition, if their growth be 
properly controlled by pinching ; but if they have once 
reached it, they should be cut back severely, and a com- 
pact bushy form obtained from the new shoots which will 
soon start. The mechanical part of pruning is very sim- 
ple, a sharp knife is the best implement, as it makes a 
clean cut, without bruising 
the bark, and the wound 
quickly heals ; but shears are 
much easier to handle, and 
the work can be done so 
much more quickly, that they 
are generally preferred, and 
for rampant growing bushes 
will answer, but upon fruit- 
trees, and choice plants gen- 
erally, the knife is to be pre- 
ferred. The cut should be 
made just at a joint ; not so Fig. 48. Fig. 49. Fig. 50. 
far above it as to leave a where to out in pruning. 
stub, as in fig. 49, which will die back to the bud, there 
being nothing to contribute to its growth ; nor should it 
be made so close to the bud as to endanger it, as in fig. 
48 ; the cut should start just opposite the lower part of 
the bud and end just above its top, as in fig. 50. For 
the removal of branches too large to cut with the knife, 
as must sometimes be done on neglected trees, a saw is 
required. Saws are made especially for the purpose, but 
any narrow one with the teeth set wide will answer ; the 
rough cut left by the saw should be pared smooth, and if 
an inch or more in diameter, the wound should be cov- 




PBUXIXG. 



137 



ered ; ordinary paint, melted grafting wax, or shellac 
yarnish will answer to protect the bare wood from air and 
moisture, and prevent decay. 

In pruning it is well to remember that the future 
shape of the tree will be materially affected by the 
position upon the branch of the bud to which the 
cut is made ; the upper bud left on the branch will 
continue the growth, and the new shoot will be in the 
direction of that bud. If 
a young tree is, as in fig. 
51, to have all its branches, 
shortened, and each is cut 
to a bud, a, pointing to- 
wards the center of the tree, 
the tendency of the new 
growth will all be inward, 
as in fig. 52 ; while if all 
be cut to an outside bud, 
b, the result will be to 
spread the growth, as in 
fig. 53. As to the time of 
pruning, about which there 
has been much discussion, 
it may be done on small 
stems at any time after the 
fall of the leaf, before the growth starts in the spring, 
but for the removal of large branches, late in winter is 
regarded as the best time. Pinching is of course done 
whenever it is needed. 




Fig. 51. Fig. 52. Fig. 53. 

PRUNING FOR SHAPE. 



138 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



CHAPTEE XLV. 

HARDY GRAPES. 

Grapes can be grown in almost any soil, provided it is 
not a wet one, although the grape will take abundance of 
water when in a growing state, it must pass off quickly, 
else the growth will be impeded. If the ground is not 
naturally suitable, (i. e., at least a foot in depth of good 
soil), a border prepared in the manner recommended in 
the chapter on " Cold Grapery," will well repay the 
trouble. It is imperative that the position where the 
vine is planted be such as will enable it to get sunlight 
for the greater portion of the day. Ten years ago I 
planted an arbor with an arched top and 100 feet long by 
16 feet wide and 10 feet high, covering a walk running 
east and west ; this gave a south and north exposure. 
The crop has always been excellent and abundant on the 
south side, and top of the arbor, but on the north 
side, (unless the first and second years of fruiting, 
when there was not sufficient foliage to impede the light), 
it has been nearly a failure. There is much misconcep- 
tion as to what should be the age of a grape-vine when 
planted; nine-tenths of our amateur customers ask for 
vines three or four years old. If a vine of that age could 
be properly lifted with every root unbroken, then there 
might be some advantage in its greater strength, but as 
vines are usually grown in the nurseries closely together, 
with the roots all interlaced, large plants can rarely be got 
with roots enough to support the vine and maintain its 
vigor after transplanting. As a rule it is better to plant 
one or two-year-old vines, which can usually be bought 
at half the price of those of three or four years old, and 



HARDY GKAPES. 



139 



which in all probability will give a crop quite as soon, if 
not sooner, than the large ones. The manner of plant- 
ing the yine is similar to that of setting any other tree or 
shrub. The ground must be thoroughly broken up, not 
in a mere hole only sufficient to hold the roots, but if a 
regular border has not been made, the place where each 
vine is to be planted, should not be less than three feet 
in diameter, and if double that, all the better, and to the 
depth of not less than a foot. On receiving the vine 
from the nursery, it may consist of one or more shoots, 




Fig. 54. — VINE WITH TWO SHOOTS. Fig. 55. — YINE WITH ARMS. 



but on planting it should be cut back to only two or three 
eyes or buds. On starting to grow, all of these buds or 
eyes should be rubbed off except one, selecting the strong- 
est. Train this shoot perpendicularly to a stake the first 
year of its growth, the next fall, when the leaves drop, 
cut it back to nine or ten inches from the ground. TThen 
the vine starts the next spring, rub off all eyes or buds 
except two, which during the season will form two canes, 
as in fig. 54. These, if they are canes half an inch in 



I 



140 



GAKDEKING FOE PLEASUEE. 



diameter, are in fall to be pruned to three or four feet 
long, and the following spring are to be trained hori- 
zontally, one to the right, the other to the left. If at 
the end of the second year they are still small, it is 
better to delay laying down the arms until another 
year, and grow two upright shoots again, to get 
them sufficiently strong. These will form the base from 
which to start the upright shoots, as shown in fig. 55. 
These upright growths will be the permanent fruiting 
canes, and should be from 15 to 18 inches apart, and 
pruned on what is known as the spur system as shown 



by fig. 56. There is nothing arbitrary as to the hight 
these canes should be. It is a matter of convenience or 
taste whether they be trained to 3 feet or 15 feet. 
Vines thus treated may be allowed to produce a few 
bunches the third year, and by the sixth year, may be 
fruited to the hight of 10 or 12 feet of cane if desired. 
Not more than two bunches of fruit should be allowed to 
each shoot. We give this manner of training as one of 
the simplest, although the system of training has but 
little to do with the crop. 

The distance apart at which grape-vines may be plant- 
ed, except the Delaware and a few of the weaker grow- 
ing sorts, is about eight feet ; the Delaware may be set 
one-third closer. Although grape-vines are hardy in 
nearly all sections, yet in any locality where the ther- 



* 




Fig. 56.— VINE SPUR-PRUNED. 



HARDY GRAPES* 



141 



mometer falls to zero, it is beneficial to lay them down 
close to the ground and cover them up with rough litter 
before the approach of severe weather in winter, allowing 
it to remain on in spring until the buds begin to swell, 
when the vines are uncovered and tied up to the trellis. 
If covered in this way they should be pruned before lay- 
ing down. Pruning may be done at any time from No- 
vember to March. It is a common belief that grape-vines 
should be pruned only at certain seasons. The weather 
must not be too cold, otherwise it is supposed they may 
be injured if then pruned. Again, they must not be 
pruned late in the spring, else the sap oozing from the 
cuts may bleed them to death. Let me say that both 
these notions are utter nonsense. The pruning of any 
tree or vine in the coldest weather cannot possibly injure, 
and the "bleeding" or running of the sap after any or- 
dinary pruning, can no more hurt the vine than the 
blood flowing from a pin scratch would weaken a healthy 
man. This method of covering up the grape-vine is not 
commonly practised, but we are satisfied that in exposed 
positions it is well worth the trouble. I have practised 
it with vines now ten years old, embracing some 20 vari- 
eties ; my soil is a stiff clay very unsuitable for the grape, 
yet these vines have kept clear of mildew, when my 
neighbor's vines a few hundred yards off have been seri- 
ously injured by it. I have long believed that intense 
cold, long continued, is hurtful to even such plants as we 
call hardy, and the wonderful vigor of these old vines, 
so treated, seems a good evidence of it. 

The litter used in covering, (which has become well- 
rotted by spring), is spread over the border, acting both 
as a summer mulch and fertilizer. Mildew is the worst 
enemy to the vine ; the same remedy we recommend in 
this book for mildew on roses, will be found equally effi- 
cacious for the grape. On the large scale dry sulphur is 
used, blown upon the vines by a bellows for the purpose. 



142 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



Propagation of the grape is done by nurserymen in green- 
houses, similar to that used for propagating 
florists plants. But most of the varieties can 
be grown with fair success by cuttings in the 
open air. The cuttings, (made from the 
young, well ripened shoots of the previous 
year's growth), may be made with two (fig. 57) 
or three buds or eyes, planted in rows, say one 
foot apart and three inches between the cut- 
tings, and set so that the top eye or bud only 
is above ground. The situation where the 
cuttings are placed should be well exposed 
to the sun, the soil rich and deep, and of 
sandy or light character. Care must be 
taken that the cutting is well firmed in the 
soil. The cuttings may be made from the 
prunings at any time during winter, and Fig. 57. 
kept in a damp cellar or buried outside cutting. 
in sand until planted in the cutting-bed in the spring. 

THE VARIETIES OF THE GRAPE 

Now number many hundred, and we will recommend 
only a very few of the most distinct sorts that have been 
grown long enough to allow us to be certain of their 
merits. 

Concord is perhaps more universally cultivated than 
any other. It grows most luxuriantly, bearing bunches 
of large size abundantly ; color black, with a rich blue 
bloom ; the flavor is of average quality. Ripens during 
the month of September. 

Hartford Prolific. — Resembles the Concord in general 
appearance, but ripens two or three weeks earlier. It is 
valuable on this account, but in light soils drops its fruit 
badly, which is quite a drawback. 

Iona. — Is a seedling of the old Catawba, color pale red, 



HABDY GRAPES. 



143 



flavor excellent, fully equal to the Catawba, but it is pref- 
erable to that variety in ripening fully a month earlier, 
or from the 1st to 15th of September. One of the best, 
where it succeeds ; it requires a strong soil. 

Delaware. — Its entirely distinct character from any of 
our hardy grapes, at one time raised the question whether 
this was not a foreign variety, but that point we believe 
is now settled, and it is conceded to be a native. In 
flavor it is unsurpassed, equal to many of our best foreign 
sorts. Bunches and berries small, of a dark pinkish red 
color. 

Rogers' Hybrids. — These varieties, probably from the 
unfortunate mistake made by their raiser in designating 
them by numbers instead of by names, have never, we 
think, had the popularity they deserve. Some of them 
are entirely distinct in color and flavor from any other 
native grapes, and form magnificent bunches. No. 4 (now 
called Wilder), has berries and bunches of the largest size, 
black with rich bloom, flavor excellent, ripens September 
first. No. 15, (Agawam), is a beautiful grape of a 
bronze color, with pinkish bloom on the side next the 
sun. It ripens early in September, and we find every 
season that the grape consumers of our household rarely 
touch a bunch of any other grape as long as any are 
left on No. 15. No. 1, (Goethe), is about the size and 
color of the white Malaga grape of commerce, tinged 
with pink on the sunny side, flavor excellent, one of the 
latest, ripening here in October. No. 19 resembles No. 
4, but of an entirely distinct flavor, by some preferred : 
ripens 15th of September. 



144 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



CHAPTER XLYI. 

THE COLD GRAPERY. 

I know of no addition to a country home from which 
such a large amount of satisfaction can be obtained at so 
small an outlay as from a grapery for growing the differ- 
ent varieties of foreign grapes. It has been proved that 
none of these fine varieties can be cultivated with any sat- 
isfaction in any part of the northern or even middle 
states, except under glass. In California and some other 
states and territories west of the Mississippi the varie- 
ties of the European grape have been extensively grown 
in the open air. There the conditions of climate are 
such as to make their culture a success equal to that at- 
tained any where in Europe. Besides the luxury of the 
grape as a table fruit, no finer sight can be seen, and there 
is nothing of which an amateur gardener may be more 
proud than a grapery in which the vines are loaded with 
ripe fruit. And as this can be obtained at a trifling 
original outlay, and with but little attention in the culti- 
vation afterwards, I will briefly describe how to do it. 

Our climate is particularly well adapted to the cultiva- 
tion of vines under glass without fire heat, and the won- 
der is that cold graperies are not in more general use 
even by people of moderate means than they at pres- 
ent are. We built one for our own use on the plan shown 
on page 92 ; it answering for a greenhouse as well as 
for a grapery. The dimensions are 50 feet long by 
25 wide. It is finished in very good style, and cost but 
little more than $1,000. It was planted in June, and 
the third year from planting we cut upwards of 300 lbs. 
of fruit from it ; the next season it yielded nearly double 
that quantity. The building was begun by setting locust 
posts four feet apart ; on these was framed the sill, on 



THE COLD GRAPEBT. 



145 



the front of which were placed upright sashes two and a 
half feet in hight, and on these the gutter. From the 
gutter was sprung the bars, ten inches apart each way, 
running on the east side clear to the ridge pole ; on the 
west framed to within 2 feet of it, so as to give room for 
lifting sashes. These were two feet wide by six long. 
To these sashes, eight in number, were attached Etch- 
ing's patent ventilating apparatus, which by turning a 
crank opens these sashes from one to twenty-four inches, 
as desired. The front sashes may be made so that 
every alternate one can open outward. The glass used 
is known as second quality English or French, 8 x 10 
inches, and put in without the use of any putty on 
the top of the glass, the manner of glazing being to 
"bed" the pane in soft putty, pressing it down tightly, 
and then tacking in the glass with large glazing points 
about the size shown in fig. 58; 
we find it an excellent plan in 
glazing to turn up the edge of 
these points as in fig. 59, so that 
they can catch under the edge of jr^ 58. Fig. 59. 

the lapping pane to keep it in tin. bent tin. 

place, otherwise it would slip down, and give a great deal 
of trouble. Glaziers will not use the points in this way 
unless compelled to do so, as it takes a somewhat longer 
time. Glass should never be lapped more than a quarter 
of an inch, if much more, the water gets between the 
laps, and when it freezes the glass is cracked. AVith 
these instructions about the erection of the glass and 
wood-work, any intelligent mechanic should be able to 
build from the plan given. Provision for water should be 
made by building a cistern inside the grapery, say four 
feet deep by eight feet in diameter, or that capacity in an 
oblong shape would be better. This cistern can be sup- 
plied by water from the roof, having a waste-pipe for 
overflow. These general directions for such a structure 
7 




146 



GAEDEOTNG FOE PLEASURE. 



as shown in the cut, are equally applicable for almost any 
size or kind of grapery. Many are built in the form of a 
"lean-to," that is, placed against any building or fence, 
using such for the back wall of the grapery. This would 
necessitate only the low front wall, which need not be 
more than one foot from the ground, if the width is but 
ten or twelve feet, but a path would require to be sunk 
inside to give room to stand upright. The sketch, fig. 




Fig. 60.— LEAN-TO GRAPERY. 

60, shows an outline of a " lean-to " grapery twenty feet 
wide, nine feet high at back and two feet in front. Such 
a structure, (exclusive of the "border,") may be put up 
roughly at a cost not exceeding $4 per running foot, 
without heating apparatus. Its aspect may be any point 
from east to south-west. 

I recollect that some dozen years ago a German jeweler 
in Jersey City, N. J., grew a splendid crop of Black Ham- 
burgs on yines which had been planted against the 
rear fence of his city lot, by placing against the fence 
some old sashes eight feet long. It was rather a bung- 
ling sort of an arrangement and awkward to get at, but 
it served the purpose of ripening the Hamburg grapes, 
which could not have been done without the glass. When 
one contemplates the erection of a complete range of gra- 



THE COLD GRAPERX. 



147 



peries, the services of a competent garden architect should 
be engaged. The border of the one we have in use was be- 
gun by excavating the natural soil to the depth of twenty- 
inches and fifteen feet in width, for the length of the 
grapery on each side. The inside was left untouched, 
the borders being entirely outside. The bottom of the 
excavation was graded from the front of the building to 
the outside of the borders, with a fall of about an inch 
to a foot, so that thorough and rapid drainage would be 
sure to be attained. At the extremity of each border a 
drain was built to carry off the water. The whole bot- 
tom was then cemented over so as to prevent the roots 
from penetrating the subsoil. This pit was then filled to 
the depth of about two feet, (four inches being allowed 
for settling), with a compost which was previously pre- 
pared by mixing about three parts of turf taken from the 
surface of a rather shaly pasture, one part of rotten stable 
manure, and one part of lime rubbish. 

It is one of the popular errors that vines for graperies 
should be two or three years old; the age of a vine" usually 
has but little to do with its size, and if grape-vines are 
properly grown the first year from cuttings, they will be 
quite as good for planting as if two or three years old. 
In fact it is a question whether a vine grown from a cut- 
ting in March, and planted in June, is not quite as good 
as one a year older. Our experience has shown that there 
is hardly a perceptible difference in the two at the end of 
the season ; as such vines, however, are too tender to be 
shipped far, we generally recommend buying one year old 
vines that may be planted in April, May, or June, hav- 
ing ripened shoots about three feet in length. These 
vines are all grown in pots the previous season, and when 
received the soil should be shaken off entirely, and the roots 
spread out in the border without injuring them. The 
root, it will be understood, is planted outside in the bor- 
der, and the shoot taken inside, through an opening in 



148 



GAEDENING FOE PLEASUEE. 



the walls. This is made of brick or stone, and should be 
left open at every three feet, the distance at which the 
vines should be planted ; if the wall is of wood, it can 
easily be cut to suit the size of the vine. The plants we 
used were strong one-year-old vines, and were set about 
June 1st. By October they had grown to over twenty 
feet in length. The varieties used were nine-tenths 
Black Hamburg, with a few Muscats and Frontignans, 
all of which have done exceedingly well. 

In November they were cut back to the bottom of the 
rafter, or about three feet from the ground, and quickly 
reached the top again the second year, with firm, well- 
ripened wood. In November they were again pruned 
back to about three feet above the foot of the rafter, or 
six feet from the ground. On this shoot was produced 
the fruit referred to, (the third year from the time of 
planting). We prune any time in November or Decem- 
ber after the leaves have fallen, and cut the shoot back 
to about four feet from top of the rafter, or about sixteen 
feet from the ground. 

Every December we lay the vines down along the front 
wall after being pruned, covering them completely with 
soil until May, when they are then taken up and tied to 
the wires, which are galvanized iron, and run across 
the rafters 15 inches apart and 15 inches from the glass. 
The training followed is what is called the "spur" sys- 
tem, which is simply to allow one cane or shoot to each 
rafter, (or at three feet apart), and pruning the side 
shoots or " bearing wood" annually back to one eye. In 
the summer treatment of the cold grapery, the principle 
must never be lost sight of, that to keep the vines in per- 
fect health, a temperature of not less than 70° at night, 
with 10° or 15° higher during the day is always necessary. 
Any rapid variation downward is certain to result in mil- 
dew. The floor of the grapery should be kept dashed 
with water at all times, unless in damp weather, from the 



THE COLD GRAPERY. 



149 



time the buds start in May, until the fruit begins to 
ripen in September, except during the period the vines 
are in flower, when it should be dispensed with until the 
fruit is set. If the weather is dry, copious watering is 
necessary for the border outside. The summer pruning 
of the grapery consists simply in pinching off the laterals, 
or side shoots which start from where the leaf joins 
the stem, to one leaf. Every winter three inches of 
the best well-rotted stable manure is spread over the 
border, and over that six inches of leaves or lit- 
ter ; this is raked off in spring, and the manure forked 
in, the object being to feed the roots from the top of the 
border. This same treatment we give our hardy grapes 
with excellent results. 

I am a good deal of a utilitarian, and am very apt to 
make even my luxuries "pay" when it is practicable to 
do so ; and though we would hardly think of selling our 
grapes that have been grown for private use, yet I do not 
scruple to make the glass that shelters them do double 
duty by using it in winter to shelter our half-hardy roses 
from November to May. Those that do not make rose- 
growing a business, as I do, can nevertheless profit by my 
example, and use the cold grapery for many purposes 
during the winter months when it is not needed for the 
grape-vines. Besides roses, all plants of a half-hardy 
character may be kept there, such as Pomegranates, 
Crape Myrtles, Pampas Grass, Tritomas, Carnations, etc., 
care being taken that the pots or tubs in which they are 
planted are plunged in leaves, tan, or some such sub- 
stance, so the roots do not freeze. The cold grapery 
makes an excellent poultry-house in winter, only if put 
to that use, care must be taken that the buried vines are 
secure against the scratching of the hens. 



150 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



CHAPTER XLVIL 

THE HOT-HOUSE OR FORCING GRAPERY. 

When grapes are forced by artificial heat, probably the 
best plan is that of the "lean-to" structure shown by 
the illustrations, figs. 61, 62, and 63. Fig. 61 gives the 
plan, which, as in some former engravings, it is not prac- 
ticable to show on the page at full length; it is accord- 
ingly "fractured" portions, as shown by the irregular 
lines, being taken out of each compartment ; the figures 
give the proper proportion. Fig. 62 is a part of the front 
elevation, and fig. 63, a section at the division between 
the two houses. The house is 100 feet long by 16 feet 
wide, divided into two compartments for early and late 
forcing, each 50 x16 feet, and both heated by one boiler 
with valves in the furnace pit to shut off and taps to draw 
the water from the pipes not in use ; a matter to be looked 
to when vineries are not in use, for if the water is not drawn 
out of the pipes it may freeze and burst them. When grapes 
are to be forced, it is essential that a sufficient covering 
of manure or leaves be placed on the border to prevent 
frost from reaching the roots, as to apply heat to the vines 
inside w^hile the roots are frozen, would seriously in- 
jure them. For very early forcing, when the vines are 
started as early as January, it is usual not only to put 
covering enough to secure from frost, but also to 
slightly ferment, so as to throw some warmth into the 
border. Xo matter at what season the grapery is started 
for forcing, the temperature should not run over 50° or 
55° at night, with a day temperature of 10° or 15° higher, 
increasing 10° when the buds have opened, which will be 
in four or five weeks from the time of starting. In five 
or six weeks the fruit will be set and the temperature is to 
be raised 10° more. In forcing, moisture is of equal im- 



THE HOT-HOUSE 



OR FORCING GRAPERY. 




Fig. 61. — PLAN OF FORCING GRAPERY. 



152 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



porfcance with heat, for if this is not attended to, you 

may expect red-spiders and thrips, and then all your labor 

may be in vain ; to keep up this moisture, tanks are usu- 
r 



i 



i 




Ml 




ally placed on the hot-water pipes for graperies, and these 
are kept filled with water, keeping up a continued evap- 
oration, except at the time the vines are in flower ; it 



THE STRAWBERRY. 



153 



should be then discontinued until the fruit is set. When 
there is no such arrangement for evaporation, dash water 
over the floors and use the syringe. To secure fine berries 
and bunches, one-third of the berries should be thinned out 
when of the size of peas, using scissors made for this 
purpose. 



CHAPTER XLYIII. 

THE STRAWBERRY. 

Of all small fruits, none perhaps stand so high in 
general favor as the strawberry. Its culture is simple, 
and as it grows freely in almost any soil or location, no 
garden of any pretensions should be without it. If 
a choice of soil can be had, nothing is so suitable as a 
deep, rich, but rather sandy loam, though it will yield 
returns sufficient to warrant its cultivation on any soil, 
from almost pure sand to clay, providing that it is drained 
naturally or artificially. In all soils, deep spading or 
plowing is essential to the production of fine crops ; end 
this should not be less than a foot, and if 18 inches, all 
the better. A coat of thoroughly rotted stable manure 
at least three inches in thickness, should be dug in and 
well mixed with the soil to a depth of six or nine inches. 
In the absence of stable manure, any of the concentrated 
fertilizers mentioned in chapter YI, "How to Use Con- 
centrated Fertilizers," used in the manner and quantities 
there described, will do as a substitute. "Where muck 
from the swamps, or leaf-mold from the woods can be 
obtained, twenty bushels of either of these mixed with 
one bushel of ashes, will make an excellent fertilizer for 
strawberries, and may be spread on as thickly as stable 
manure, and on sandy soils is probably better. 



154 



GARDEXIXG FOR PLEASURE. 



Strawberries may be planted either in the fall or spring. 
If the plants are to be set in the fall, it should not be 
done if possible in this latitude before the middle of Sep- 
tember. This, of course, refers to the plants from run- 
ners taken up from the bed in the usual manner, and 
there is nothing gained in time over planting the next 
spring, as the plant must grow for one season before it 
can bear a full crop of fruit. In private gardens it is 




Fig. 64. — STRIKING STRAWBERRIES IN POTS. 



much better to have the plants layered in pots, as they 
may then be set at almost any time. These pots may be 
from two to three inches in diameter ; when a lot of 
strawberry plants are wanted for a new bed, all that is 
necessary to do is to fill these small pots with soil, and 
"plunge " or plant the pot just to the surface level, plac- 
ing the unrooted "runner" of the strawberry plant on 
the top of the soil in the flow T er-pot, and laying a small 
stone or clod on it to keep it in place. This method of 
striking in pots is shown in fig. 64. The runners so 



THE STRAWBERRY. 



155 



treated will form plants in two or three weeks, and may 
be planted out with safety any time from August to Oc- 
tober. If strawberry plants are treated in this way, and 
planted in August, and care taken that all runners that 
come from them be cut off as soon as formed, so that the 
whole force of the root is thrown into the main crown, 
a full crop of berries will be gathered the season follow- 
ing, or in nine or ten months from time of planting. We 
have practiced this system of layering strawberry plants 
in pot3 for what we need for our own use, for the past 
twenty years, and the results have been so successful that 
we have many converts to the system among our neigh- 
bors. Plants grown in this manner cannot often be ob- 
tained from the nurseries, as the necessary labor and ex- 
pense of the pots makes the price five times more than 
that of ordinary plants rooted in the open bed. When 
strawberry plants are set out in the fall, unless under 
favorable circumstances, many will fail to grow, for the 
reason that each young plant or runner is sustained in 
part by the old plant, and when detached, feels the shock 
more than a rooted cutting or seedling plant does, that 
has been growing for weeks on its own account, for that 
reason we have always advised all that were intending to 
plant fresh strawberry beds, to prepare their plants a few 
weeks ahead by layering them in pots. Two to four hun- 
dred plants are all that an ordinary family will need, and 
two or three hours' work would be all the time required 
to layer the plants in the pots. One hundred plants so 
prepared, will give more fruit the first season than 1,000 
plants planted in the usual way, and the plant forms 
a stool quicker, and much less time is expended in keep- 
ing them clean. The use- of layered plants is recom- 
mended specially for fall planting, and the sooner it is 
done in fall the better ; plant in August if possible. 

In spring the use of potted plants would have no spe- 
cial advantage, as if planted in April or May, they would 



156 



GARDEETHG FOR PLEASURE. 



have all the summer to grow, but of course no fruit can 
be expected the season of planting. For this reason, it 
will be seen that to secure a crop quickly, the time to 
plant is in August or September, and from plants that 
have been layered in pots. There is no arbitrary rule for 
the distance apart at which strawberry plants should be 
set, but if the ground has been prepared as advised, 
the finest fruit will be had by giving them plenty of 
room. For our own use we usually set 400 plants annu- 
ally in August, at two feet apart between the rows, and 
eighteen inches between the plants, and gather about 200 
quarts of splendid fruit. If the ground is limited they 
may be planted at half the above distance, particularly if 
set late in fall. There is one very important point in 
strawberry culture that should never be neglected ; that 
is, that the beds be entirely covered with hay, straw, or 
leaves, to the depth of three or four inches. This cov- 
ering should not be put on, however, before the approach 
of severe weather, in this district about the middle of De- 
cember. This covering should not be taken off in spring ; 
it is only necessary to go over the beds as soon as growth 
begins in spring, and pull the covering back from the 
plants only sufficient to expose the crown, allowing ail to 
remain on the bed. This covering serves several purpo- 
ses. It keeps the roots warm until the plants start to 
grow, it keeps the fruit clean when ripe, it prevents the 
growth of weeds, and finally acts as a mulch to keep the 
soil from drying in hot weather. Although strawberry 
beds will remain in bearing for a number of years, the 
fruit is always largest and finest the first season of bear- 
ing, gradually getting smaller as the plants get older, 
hence it is desirable to provide for a succession, if not 
every year, at least every second year. For garden cul- 
ture in this, as in all other fruits, it is unwise to use any 
but fully tested varieties, three or four of which are 
.sufficient. 



THE STRAWBERRY. 



15?' 



VARIETIES OF THE STRAWBERRY. 

Triomplie de Gand is one of the favorite varieties ; it is 
of large size, fine flavor, and a fair bearer. It requires a 
heavy soil. 

Wilson's Seedling is a variety better known than any 
other sort ; it bears large crops, but is very sour. It is 
much used for preserving. 

Champion. — A berry of an immense size, and beautiful 
dark crimson appearance, an abundant bearer, but not 
so rich in flavor as some others. 

Charles Downing. — This variety is likely to take the 
place of the Wilson, as it has all the productiveness of 
that ; succeeds on all soils, and a much better berry. 

Kentucky. — Is the latest variety, and by planting it 
with earlier sorts, will extend the season several days. 

Black Defiance. — This is a first-class fruit in every re- 
spect, large, productive, and of high flavor ; while its 
dark color unfits it for market, it is one of the best for 
the private garden. 

Seth Boy den. — One of the largest berries, very produc- 
tive, sweet, but not very high flavored ; its long neck 
allows it to be hulled, very readily. 

FORCING STRAWBERRIES. 

Those who have a greenhouse often wish to force straw- 
berries into fruit several weeks in advance of the time 
that they will be ripe in the open air. It may be done in 
a frame or pit. The young runners must be first layered 
in pots, as already described, as early as runners are 
formed, and as soon as the small pots are filled with roots, 
they must be shifted into larger ones, say six inches in 
diameter, the runners being pinched off as they appear, 
so as to throw the whole strength of the plant into the 
fruiting crown. The soil in which to pot strawberries for 



158 GARDEKIKG FOE PLEASURE. 

forcing is the one we recommend for nearly all plants ; 
three parts rotted sods, and one part rotted manure. 
The potted strawberries should be placed on boards, 
flagging, or a layer of coal ashes, to prevent the earth- 
worms from getting in at the bottom of the pots. At 
first, after being shifted, they should be set closely to- 
gether, but as they grow they must be spread apart, as it 
is necessary that the air pass around the pots to ripen the 
roots. Of course the necessary attention to water is as 
important with these as with other plants in pots. They 
may thus stand in the open air until November, when 
the pots may be plunged in dry leaves to prevent their be- 
ing broken by frost ; and the tops also covered an inch or 
two with -fche same material ; as cold weather advances, 
they may be taken in at intervals of two weeks or so and 
placed on the shelves of a greenhouse, near the glass, 
where the temperature will average at night 50 degrees, 
and if due attention to watering has been given, a crop 
will be the result, such as will well repay the labor, 
not only as fruit, but the plants so loaded will them- 
selves be beautiful greenhouse ornaments. Good vari- 
eties for forcing are Triomphe de Gand and Champion. 

RASPBERRY. 

To have the Easpberry in perfection, the same prepara- 
tion of soil is necessary as for the Strawberry. The canes 
or shoots of the Easpberry are biennial ; that is, the cane 
or shoot that is formed one season, bears fruit the next 
season, and dies off after fruiting, giving place to the 
young cane that is to fruit the following season, and 
so on. The distances apart to plant the Easpberry for 
garden culture, may be, if in rows, five feet apart, with 
the plants two feet apart in the row, or if in separate 
stools or hills, they may be set four feet each way. If 
planted at distances of four feet apart, three plants may 
be put in each " hill," which will quicker secure a crop. 



EASPBEKEY. 



159 



They may be set either in fall or in spring ; if in fall, a 
covering of four or five inches of litter should be spread 
over the roots to prevent them from getting too much 
frozen. And even when the plants are established and 
growing, it is necessary in many cold sections, to bend 
down the canes and cover them with pine branches or 
some covering that will shield them from severe freezing. 
On the large scale the canes are bent down and covered 
with a few inches of earth, an operation that may be 
rapidly performed by two persons. One bends down the 




Fig. 65. —LAYING DOWN RASPBERRY CANES. 



canes, (using a pitchfork or other implement), as shown 
in the accompanying diagram, (fig. 65), while the other 
throws sufficient earth near the tips to hold the canes in 
place ; after a row is thus bent over, the two go back 
and cover with earth more completely. All the 
pruning that is necessary for the Easpberry is to 
thin out the shoots in each hill to four or six ; this 
is best done in the summer after the fruit is gathered, and 
at the same time the old canes that have borne the 
fruit should be cut out, so that the young shoots, coming 
forward to do duty next season, may have room to grow 
freely, and develop and ripen the wood. "When the leaves 
drop in fall, the canes may be shortened down a foot or 
so, which will complete the pruning process. To get the 
full benefit of all the fruit, it is very necessary to stake 
the Easpberry, this may be done either by tying the canes 
of each plant separately to a stout stake, driven two feet 



160 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



or so in the ground, or if grown in rows they may be 
tied to wires running along the rows ; the wires should 
be stretched between two stout posts, one at each end of 
the row, and three feet more or less above the ground, 
according to variety ; to prevent the wire from sagging, 
stakes should be driven into the ground directly under it, 
at intervals of six or ten feet ; the wire is attached to 
these by means of staples placed over it and driven into 
the ends of the 
stakes. The di- 
agram, fig. 66, 
shows the meth- 
od of training 
to the wire ; the 
longer canes at 
the right and 
left are the 
canes which are 
to fruit the cur- 
rent year ; these 
are tied out as 
there shown, 
while the new 
shoots, which 
are to furnish canes for the next year's fruiting, grow up 
in the center, and as soon as tall enough are tied to the 
wire ; after the outer canes have fruited, they are cut 
away to give the others more room. 

The varieties are very numerous, those named below 
are such as will be most satisfactory for ^private use. 
From 100 to 200 hills or plants, of all varieties, will usu- 
ally be sufficient for most families. 

Fastolff.—A large crimson fruit of delicious flavor. 

Brinckle's Orange.— An orange colored berry of large 
size, very productive, and of excellent flavor. 

Clarke.— Rot quite so large as the lastolff, but of 




Fig. 66. — TRAINING RASPBERRIES TO A WIRE. 



BLACKBEEET. 



161 



strong, robust habit, enduring well the extremes of heat 
and cold. 

Philadelphia. — One of the hardiest and most produc- 
tive, growing in soils and situations where the others 
would fail. It is of rather poor quality, but is useful for 
the above reasons. 

Catawissa. — A fall-bearing variety of medium size, 
color purplish crimson, medium flavor. 

BLACK CAPS. 

Black-caps or Black Easpberries have become very 
popular of late years, many persons being fond of their 
peculiar flavor. They belong to a distinct species from 
the ordinary Easpberries ; the plants make no suckers, 
but propagate themselves by taking root at the ends of 
the long branches, which in the fall, if allowed to grow 
at will, bend over and reach the earth. They throw up 
shoots from the base of the plant which take the place of 
those which have already borne a crop. In gardens 
where there is no desire to propagate the plants, the 
growing shoots should be pinched off when they get 
three or four feet high, and any side-shoots they may 
throw off are stopped by pinching when they are about 
18 inches long. The bearing wood is thinned oat after 
the fruit is off. 

Mammoth Cluster is considered the most productive 
of all the numerous varieties. 

Thornless. — This is preferable to the others in being 
nearly free from spines, and though the fruit is not quite 
so large, it is much more easily gathered. 

BLACKBEEET. 

The cultivation of the Blackberry is nearly similar to 
that of the Easpberry, except that it should be planted 
about one-third farther apart, and it being hardier, there 
is no need for covering it in winter. As it has a more 



162 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



vigorous growth, it is sometimes set in any out of the 
way corner, and in almost any soil ; but it will amply 
repay generous cultivation with finer fruit. The man- 
ner of growth is the same as the Raspberry, and when 
the fruit is picked, the old canes are to be cut out to give 
the new ones a chance. The new shoots are very vigorous 
growers, and when they reach the hight of five, or at 
most, six feet, they should be stopped by pinching ; this 
will cause an abundance of side shoots to start which are 
to be pinched when about IS inches long. This treat- 
ment increases the productiveness of the plants and keeps 
the fruit within reach. The bushes should be kept tied 
to stout stakes or wires, as advised for the Raspberry. 

The following are a few of the popular kinds : 

Eittatinny. — An immensely large berry of excellent 
flavor, of deep, shiny black color, one of the very best 
for family use. 

Wilson's Early. — One of the earliest varieties, ripen- 
ing a week or more before the Kittatinny, quite as large, 
and of excellent quality. 

Cut-leaved. — The merit of this variety is its lateness of 
ripening, coming in just when the others are done fruit- 
ing. It is of large size, and esteemed by many, while 
others do not like its very distinct and peculiar flavor. 

CURRANTS. 

The Currant is useful both for dessert and for preserv- 
ing purposes. An immense weight of fruit is obtained 
for the space it occupies, and the ease of its culture makes 
it common in every garden. The red and white varieties 
of Currants may be planted three or four feet apart each 
way, the black at four or five feet apart Pruning is 
done in fall by cutting off about one-third of the young 
growth of the previous summer, and thinning out old 
shoots when the plant gets too thick. All are trained in 



GOOSEBEEEY. 



163 



low bush form, the whites and reds usually from three to 
four feet high and wide, and the black four to six feet. 
An insect known as the currant-worm is often very de- 
structive. On its first appearance, if confined to a few 
leaves, these should be cut off, shoot and all, and de- 
stroyed. If they threaten to be troublesome, powdered 
white Hellebore, either dusted on, or mixed four ounces 
to a pailful of water and applied with a syringe, will de- 
stroy them at once. 

Black Naples. — This is the favorite black variety, and 
is used almost exclusively for jams and jellies. The 
black varieties are much less grown here than in Europe, 
but the taste for them is increasing. 

Red Dutch. — Color of berries deep red, of average size, 
flavor excellent. 

White Grape. — Berries large, of a yellowish-white 
color. The flavor of this variety is less acid than any 
other ; excellent for dessert. 

Versailles. — The fruit much larger than the Eed 
Dutch, and the best flavored of all the large-berried kinds. 

Cherry. — Berries larger than that of any other sort, 
but too acid for most tastes ; only suitable for jelly. 

GOOSEBEEEY. 

The Gooseberry is a fruit better suited for the climate 
of Britain than for ours, and it is never seen here in the 
perfection it attains there. It ripens just when our hot- 
test weather occurs, forcing it unnaturally to maturity, 
and hence the absence of the size and flavor it attains 
when ripened at a lower temperature. The native varie- 
ties, though far inferior in quality, are usually more free 
from mildew, and are therefore most desirable for culti- 
vation here, as the fruit with us is more used in the green 
than in the ripe state. Gooseberries are planted from 



104 GARDENING FOE PLEASURE. 

three to four feet apart, and are treated in all other re- 
spects like Currant bushes. 

Doicning. — A native variety of medium size, greenish- 
white when ripe, excellent quality. 

Houglito/vs Seedling. — Also a native variety, size me- 
dium, color red, flavor average. f 

Of the foreign varieties among Reds may be named as 
leading sorts, Warrington, Champion, "Waterloo ; of 
Greens, Green Globe, Melville, Green Gage; of Yellows, 
Sulphur, Champagne, Golden Drop ; of, Whites, Crystal, 
Whitesmith, Dutch. 

FIGS. 

The Fig on account of it not being hardy in the north- 
ern states, is but little cultivated unless in tubs, which 
are placed in cellars or sheds to protect them' during the 
winter months, or occasionally on the back wall of lean- 
to graperies : but in all parts of the country where the 
thermometer does not get lower than twenty degrees 
above zero, they can be grown freely in the open air 
without protection. It is hardly ever necessary to prune 
the Fig, except to regulate its shape by cutting back anv 
extra strong shoots. In sections of the country such as 
Maryland, or West Virginia, or Delaware, where it may 
require slight protection when grown in the open air, it 
should be planted against a wall or fence, and trained 
against it ; on the approach of cold weather it should be 
laid down and covered as recommended for hardy grapes. 
When grown in tubs to be kept in cellars, sheds, or green- 
house pits, they should be placed under cover in this 
latitude early in November, kept as dry as possible with- 
out shrivelling, and set out in the o]^en air again in 
May. The soil and general treatment for plants grown 
in the open air in pots or tubs will be suitable for them. 



QUIKCE — CHERRY. 



165 



There are numerous sorts in cultivation from which we 
select the following : 

Wliite Genoa. — Large roundish, yellow skin ; flesh red- 
ish-pink, excellent flavor. 

Brown Turkey. — Pear shaped, average size, brown 
skin ; flesh red, rich flavor. 

Early Violet. — Skin brownish-red ; flesh reddish-crim- 
son, delicious flavor; fruit rather small; one of the hardiest. 

Brown Ischia. — Size large, skin yellowish-brown ; flesh 
violet, sweet and luscious, very prolific. 

QUINCE. 

A few Quince trees should be planted m every garden 
where there is any pretension to a collection of fruits. It 
is a tree requiring but little attention, and for that reason 
is often neglected, and very unsightly specimens are seen. 
The tree is very ornamental in flower and fruit, and by a 
little attention to pruning, a handsome head may be 
formed, though equally luxuriant crops are seen on 
trees that have been untouched for years. They may be 
planted eight or ten feet apart. In varieties the kind in 
most general use is the 

Apple-shaped or Orange. — A large round variety, 
bright golden-yellow. 

Pear-shaped is larger, color greenish -yellow, and its 
shape being more pear-like, readily distinguishes it from 
the other and better variety. 

Bea's Seedling. — A variety not very abundant as yet, 
is the largest and finest of all. 

CHERRY. 

The Cherry-tree begins to bear usually in two or three 
years after planting trees of the size sold at the nurseries, 



166 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



and continues to annually enlarge in growth and produc- 
tiveness until it often attains a larger size than most of 
our fruit-trees. The Cherry grows freely in almost any 
soil that is free from moisture, preferring, however, like 
most other fruits, a deep loamy soil. The tree may be 
trained as desired, either in pyramidal form or with a 
round top, by pruning and directing the shoots. The 
distance apart may be ten or twelve feet. Varieties : 

Black Tartarian. — Deep purplish -black, very large ; 
fine flesh, unsurpassed in quality ; last of June. 

BocJcport. — Very large, amber-yellow, dotted red ; flesh 
firm, sweet and excellent ; ripens in June. 

Coe's Transparent. — Color pale-amber-yellow ; spotted 
with pink ; flesh tender, sweet, and of fine flavor ; ripens 
middle of June. 

May DuJce.—Colox dark-red, size medium, quality ex- 
cellent ; ripens early in June. 

Morello. — A sub-acid variety of medium size, color 
bright-red, changing to darker color when fully ripe ; 
hangs long on the tree, mainly used for pies and pre- 
serving. 

PLUM. 

The cultivation of the Plum is rendered nearly useless 
in most places by the attacks of the Curculio, or Plum 
Weevil. Every conceivable application to the trees has 
been tried without any satisfactory result. The only 
thing which will effectually save a crop in the districts 
infested by this insect, is to jar the tree in the morning 
or in cool days, first spreading sheets under the trees to 
catch the weevils, after which they may be burned. If 
this is begun as soon as the plums are formed, and per- 
sisted in every few days until they are ripe, a large share of 
the crop may be saved. This may be thought to be pay- 
ing rather dear for a crop of plums, but it is really the 



PLUM. 



167 



only way it can be secured. Many years ago the crop of 
a plum orchard under our charge numbering over a hun- 
dred large trees, was saved by this process, while all other 
plums in the district where the jarring of the trees was 
not resorted to, were completely destroyed. This plan 
was recommended nearly half a century ago, and no 
other practicable method has since been presented. 
It has been recommended by some to plant the trees on 
the bank of a pond or running stream, and train them to 
overhang the water, also to pave or cement around the 
roots so that the insect cannot burrow, but these plans 
would be often impossible, and are useless. Trees upon 
stiff, clayey soils are more exempt from the ravages of the 
Curculio than those upon light ones, probably for the 
reason that the insect in the grub or larvae state cannot 
penetrate them so readily, as they must enter the ground 
to become perfect insects. The average distance at which 
the Plum may be planted is from ten to twelve feet. The 
following are distinct and fine sorts. 

Orleans. — Color purple, with a rich blue bloom, size 
medium ; flesh deep yellow, flavor of first quality ; cling- 
stone ; ripens in August. 

Washington. — Color yellow, marbled with red next the 
sun ; large size ; flesh firm, sweet, and rich ; freestone ; 
ripens first of September. 

Green Gage. — A well known variety, rather small in 
size, but of exquisite flavor, color greenish-yellow, spotted 
with red on the sunny side ; freestone ; ripens early in 
August. 

Columbia. — Of the largest size, color brownish-purple ; 
flesh yellow, sweet, and finely flavored ; freestone ; ripens 
the last of August. 

Golden Drop. — A very old and well known sort, color 
golden-yellow with red spots next the sun ; large, oval ; 



168 GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 

rich and sweet yellowish flesh ; clingstone ; ripens middle 

of September. 

PEACH. 

The Peach prefers the light, dry, and warm soils, 
known as sandy loams. The tree is shortlived in most 
sections, and attains its best fruiting condition usually 
when from five to nine years old. The tree is greatly 
benefitted by pruning ; the growth of the previous sea- 
son should be shortened about one-third ; this, if annually 
followed from the time the trees are set, will give them 
compact heads instead of open, straggling ones, the 
branches of which will break down with the first full 
crop of fruit. In the peach-growing districts the culti- 
vators do not expect more than three crops in five years, 
and if they get two full crops in that time they are con- 
tent, and amateurs should expect no more. "When a crop 
sets at all there is usually more fruit than the tree can 
carry and ripen ; no fruit needs severe thinning more 
than the peach. In bearing seasons half or two-thirds of 
those which set may be removed with benefit to the rest. 
When a tree appears sickly with yellow foliage, dig it up 
at once. The distance apart may be from eight to ten 
feet. Among the favorite varieties for garden culture 
may be named 

Early Beatrice. — One of Mr. Eivers' seedlings, and so 
far as tried in this country promises to be a valuable 
early sort ; its size is small, but quality good ; freestone. 

Ifdhh Early. — A very early peach, of fair size and 
great beauty, but has the fault that it in some localities 
rots just as it begins to ripen, a difficulty probably due to 
overbearing rather than to locality ; freestone, excellent. 

Columbia. — Large, round, color yellow and red, 
streaked with dark-crimson ; flesh yellow, rich, and juicy, 
flavor excellent ; freestone ; ripens in September. 



NECTARINES. 



160 



Cratvford's Early. — Large, roundish, color yellow, 
tinged with red ; flesh yellow, rich, and sweet ; ripens 
last of August ; freestone. 

Crawford's Late. — Similar in appearance, but ripening 
three weeks later. 

Cooledge's Favorite. — Size medium, roundish oval, 
color clear white with crimson cheek ; flesh rich, juicy, 
and of first quality ; ripens in August ; freestone. 

Honest John, or Early YorTc. — Large, roundish, white 
with red cheek ; flesh white, very juicy, excellent flavor ; 
middle of August; freestone. 

Morris White. — A well known variety, size medium, 
color greenish-white, flavor average. The variety mostly 
used for preserving ; middle of September ; freestone. 

Malacatune. — Fruit large, yellow, with dark red cheek ; 
flesh orange-yellow, flavor excellent ; middle of Septem- 
ber ; freestone. 

NECTARINES. 

Nectarines are only smooth skinned peaches, requiring 
in all respects similar treatment to the peach. They are 
but little grown in this country, as they are equally lia- 
ble to injury by the attacks of the Plum Curculio, with 
the Plum itself. The same treatment recommended 
for its destruction in Plums, must be applied to the 
Nectarine. There is a peculiarity in the flavor of some 
varieties of Nectarines differing from that of any of the 
peaches, and by some they are greatly preferred to any 
peach in flavor. The successful varieties are not numerous. 

Early Newington. — Large, roundish oval, greenish- 
yellow mottled red ; flesh yellowish-white ; September ; 
cling. 

Hunt's Tawny. — Large, round, amber-yellow with red 
cheek ; flesh orange, melting, flavor excellent ; ripens in 
August ; freestone. 
8 



170 GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 

Boston. — Large, oval, yellow with mottled crimson 
cheek ; flesh yellow, excellent quality ; September ; free- 
stone. 

APRICOT. 

The Apricot is closely related to the peach, but belongs 
to another species ; it is less juicy, and has a flavor 
quite distinct from, and by some preferred to, that of the 
peach. The blighting Ourculio attacks the Apricot also, 
and its culture can only be successful by combating the 
difficulties that attend that of the plum, unless in special 
locations that seem few and far between. The varieties are 

MoorparTc. — Size large as an average peach, yellow 
with red cheek ; flesh orange, sweet, and of exquisite 
flavor ; ripens in July. 

Orange. — Pale yellow with red cheek, size medium ; 
ripens end of July. 

Turkey. — Large, deep yellow, shaded orange ; flesh 
pale-yellow, firm, rich, and sweet ; ripens in August. 

APPLE. 

The apple can only be grown in gardens as a dwarf, 
either kept in a bush form or trained as a pyramid or 
other shape. The dwarf trees are made so by grafting on 
dwarfing stocks, while the varieties are the same as those 
found in the large trees of the orchard. Two sorts of 
dwarfing stocks are used by nurserymen, the Doucin and 
Paradise. Trees upon the Doucin will ultimately grow 
quite large, and as the Paradise is the ojily stock which 
makes really dwarf trees, the amateur who wishes to 
grow dwarf apple-trees should make sure that they are 
worked on Paradise stocks. Of course trees of this kind 
are not advised as a source of fruit, but there can scarcely 
be a handsomer object in the garden than a bush three 
feet high, and about the same through, loaded with enor- 



APPLE — PEARS. 



171 



mous apples. Dwarf apple-trees may be planted six 
feet apart each way, while ordinary trees in the orchard 
are given 15 to 30 feet, or even 40 feet. The following 
sorts are recommended for garden culture. For descrip- 
tions see nursery catalogues. Eed Astrachan, Alexander, 
Sweet Bough, Fall Pippin, Grayenstein, Maiden's Blush, 
Porter, Eambo, Northern Spy, Mother, Twenty Ounce, 
Beauty of Kent, Hawthornden, Spitzenberg, Jonathan^ 
King of Tompkins County, Keswick Codlin, Lady Apple, 
Eed Canada, Swaar. 

PEARS, _ 

Like apples, are grown as dwarfs and standards. The 
former being planted from eight to ten feet apart, the 
latter from ten to twelve feet. The dwarfs, budded on 
the quince stock, are mostly used for garden culture, as 
from their habit they are more suitable, besides having 
the invaluable quality of coming quicker into bearing. 
Time was when the adage went, " He that plants pears, 
plants for his heirs," but this is now no more applicable 
to the pear than ta the peach, for we now have fine crops 
of pears budded on the quince in three to five years from 
the time of planting. The trees may be grown as 
pyramids, or in the bush form, or in small gardens, 
pear, peach, and other trees are successfully trained 
in what is called the oblique cordon, which allows 
a number of varieties to be grown in a small space. 
Only a general outline of the method can be given 
here, referring for fuller details to Barry's and other 
works on fruit culture. A trellis is built about 8 feet 
high, by nailing a strong top and bottom rail to posts, 
which should be about 8 feet apart. Slats of inch 
stuff are put on between the two rails at an angle of 30° ; 
these are fastened on with screws, as when the trees 
have reached the top, the slats are to be brought down to 
45°, and they should be long enough to allow for doing 



172 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



this. Young trees are set in an inclined position in a 
line with, these slats, which are three feet apart. Each 
tree is cut back to a few buds, and one shoot allowed to 
grow from the strongest bud, all the others being re- 
moved. This shoot as it grows is kept tied to the slat, 
and when it throws out side-shoots, as it soon will, 
they are pinched back to three or four leaves, whenever 
the shoot is sufficiently developed to allow the number 
of the leaves to be seen. By growing in this inclined 




Fig. 67.— CORDON-TRAIXIXG OF PEAR TREES. 



position, and by pinching every shoot back to three or 
four leaves, the tree is dwarfed and made to bear early, 
and when properly managed, forms a perfect cordon or 
garland, with fruit along its whole length. Fig. 67 
shows a portion of a trellis of this kind. The following 
varieties are recommended for either kind of training. 
For descriptions see nursery catalogues. Bartlett, Beurre 
d'Anjou, Duchesse d'Angoul£me, Lawrence, Clapp's 
Favorite, Beurre Bosc, Dana's Hovey, Vicar of Wink- 
field, Howell, TJrbaniste, Seckel, Winter Nelis, Brandy- 
wine, Doyenne d' Ete, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Belle 
Lucrative, Doyenne Boussock. 



VEGETABLE GARDEN. 



COTTAGE GARDENING — A DIGRESSION. 175 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

COTTAGE GARDENING— A DIGRESSION. 

Before taking up the subject of vegetable culture, I 
will relate an incident connected with cottage gardening 
that may interest if it does not benefit some of those into 
whose hands this book may fall. About a dozen years ago 
I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of a gen- 
tleman whose duties compelled him to be at his desk in 
a close office in the City of New York, from 9 o'clock A. m. 
to 4 p.m. Being naturally of a weak constitution, his 
sedentary life soon made him the victim of dyspepsia to 
such a degree that he felt that he must soon resign his 
situation. He was then a man of forty, entirely ignorant 
of anything pertaining to country life, and it was with 
great misgivings and reluctance that, by the advice of 
his physician, he changed his home from a closely built 
part of New York to a cottage in the then country-like 
suburb of Bergen Heights, N. J. His means enabled 
him to purchase a modest cottage built on a lot 50 by 
150 feet ; he did not want the land, he said, but the cot- 
tage was such as he fancied, and the ground had to go 
with it. It was about this time that I formed his ac- 
quaintance, through some business transaction, and he 
asked my professional advice as to what he could do with 
his land, which he had already begun to consider some- 
what of an incumbrance. I replied to him that, if I was 
not greatly mistaken, in his little plot of ground lay a 
cure for all his bodily ills, and that besides it could add 
to the comforts if not the luxuries of his table if he would 
only work it. "I work it ! " he exclaimed. " You don't 
suppose that these hands could dig or delve," holding up 
his thin and bloodless fingers, "and if they could I know 



176 GARDENING FOE PLEASURE. 

nothing about gardening." I told him I thought neither 
objection insurmountable if he once begun. 

The result of our conversation was, that he resolved to 
try, and try he did to a purpose. Our interview was in 
March, and before the end of April he had his lot all 
nicely dug over, the labor being clone by his own hands 
during an hour and a half each morning. His custom 
was to get up at six o'clock and work at his garden until 
half past seven. This gave him ample time to dress, get 
breakfast, and be at his desk in the city by nine. The 
labor of merely digging was (to him) heavy and rather 
monotonous, but he stuck to it bravely, and when he 
again presented himself before me for plants and seeds 
and information as to what to do with them, it was with 
some pride that I saw my prescription had worked so 
well, for my friend then looked more like a farmer than 
a pallid clerk. The regulating of his little garden was a 
simple matter, and was done according to the following 
diagram : 



Cauliflower, cabbage and lettuce. : 


Strawberries. 


Cucumbers, onions, and parsley. : 


Raspberries. 


Beets, carrots, and parsnips. : 


Tomatoes. 


Bush beans. : 


Asparagus and Rhubarb. 


During his first season, of course, he made some blun- 



ders and some failures, but his interest in the work in- 
creased year by year. His family was supplied with an 
abundance of all the fresh vegetables and fruits his lim- 
ited space could admit of being grown — a supply that it 
would have taken at least $150 to purchase at retail, and 
stale at that. But the benefit derived from the cultiva- 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 



177 



tion of this cottage garden was health — strong, rugged 
health — that for the six years he was my neighbor, never 
once failed him. 

I know this case is an extremely exceptional one, for I 
never knew another man who so resolutely worked him- 
self into health. There are hundreds of business men, 
book-keepers, salesmen, clerks, and the like who live in 
the suburbs of all great cities, many of whom can ill 
afford to pay for the keeping of the plots surrounding 
their cottages, but who think they can far less afford to 
do the work themselves. As a consequence, in nine cases 
out of ten, the rear, at least, of their suburban plots is a 
wilderness of weeds. But this is not the least of the 
evils, the owner has a certain amount of muscular force, 
and this, be it more or less, being unused, its possessor 
pays the penalty of his laziness in dyspepsia, and a host 
of other ills. The proofs are apparent everywhere that 
garden operations are conducive to health and longevity. 
The work is not unduly laborious, and when fairly en- 
tered into has a never-failing interest. The growing and 
the watching of the great variety of plants gives a 
healthy tone to the mind, while the physical labor de- 
manded by cultivation takes care of the body. 



OHAPTEE L. 

THE VEGETABLE GAUD EN. 

It is perhaps best that the space allotted to vegetables 
should be at one side of the garden, and that for fruits 
at the other, at least in the beginning, though a rotation 
of crops or change of position may be advantageous in 
course of time. I will give in brief the culture of each 



178 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



vegetable in general use/ placing them alphabetically for 

easy reference, and enumerate the leading varieties. 

ASPARAGUS— (Asparagus officinalis.) 

Asparagus should be planted the first spring that the 
owner comes into possession of the land, and if the house 
is yet to be built, let the Asparagus-bed be planted at 
once, as it takes the roots two or three years to acquire 
sufficient strength to give a crop. For an ordinary family 
a bed of six rows of fifty or sixty feet in length, and three 
feet apart, will be sufficient, the plants in the rows 
being set nine inches apart. In planting it is custo- 
mary to use two-year-old plants, but it often happens 
that as large a plant is raised from seed in good 
soils in one year as in a poorer soil in two years ; in 
such cases the one-year-old plant is preferable. The 
preparation of the Asparagus bed should be made with 
more care than for most vegetables, from the fact that 
it is a permanent crop which ought to yield as well at 
the end of twenty-five as of five years, if the soil has been 
well prepared. The asparagus bed, to start with, should 
be on ground thoroughly drained, either naturally or ar- 
tificially, and if choice can be had, on a rather light sandy 
loam. This should be trenched and mixed with suffi- 
cient manure to form a coating of at least six inches 
thick over the bed ; this manure should be worked into 
the soil by trenching to the depth of two feet, as the roots 
of the plant will reach quite that depth in a few years. 
In setting, the crowns of the plants should be placed at 
least three inches below the surface. It makes but little 
difference whether it is planted in spring or fall ; if in 
spring, it should be done as early as the ground is dry 
enough to work, and if in fall, just as soon as the 
plants can be had, which is usually in the early part 
of October. We prefer fall planting on light,, well- 



ASPARAGUS. 



179 



drained soils, for the reason that if it is done then, young 
roots are formed, which are ready to grow on the ap- 
proach of spring, but if the planting is done in March or 
April, this formation of new roots has to take place then, 
and causes a corresponding delay in growth. Plants are 
sold by market gardeners and seedsmen, and as it will 
save a year or two, to purchase them, it is not worth 
while to raise them from seed in a private garden. The 
edible portion is the undeveloped stems, which if cut 
away as soon as they appear, are followed by others, 
which start from the crown of the plant. The cutting, 




Fig. 68. — ASPARAGUS. 



if continued too long, would finally exhaust the root, 
hence it is customary to stop cutting as soon as early peas 
become plenty, and allow the remaining shoots to grow 
during the remainder of the season, and thus accumulate 
sufficient strength in the plant to allow it to produce an- 
other crop of shoots the next season. The engraving, 
(fig. 68), represents a strong plant with the earth re- 



180 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



moved from the roots ; the shoots are shown in different 
stages of development, and it will be seen how readily 
careless cutting may injure the buds which are ready to 
produce a succession of shoots. 

The surface of the Aspargus bed should have a top- 
dressing of three or four inches of rough stable manure 
every fall, (November), 
which should be lightly 
forked into the bed in 
spring. The best variety 
is what is known as 
"Van Sicklen's Colos- 
sal/' - In some localities 
Asparagus is attacked 
by an insect called the 
Asparagus Beetle. The 
best method of getting 
rid of this pest, that we 
have found, is to coop 
up a hen and let the 
chickens pick up the 
insects and their eggs. 

ARTICHOKE-GLOBE— 

(Cynara Scolymus.) 

The portion used of 
this plant is the unde- 
veloped flower cluster, 
or the portion which is known as the scales of the 
involucre. They are boiled and served with drawn 
butter, but outside of France do not seem to be very 
generally appreciated. The plants are propagated first 
by seeds, sown in a hot-bed in March, and planted out 
at distances of from two to three feet. It is not 
always hardy enough for our winters in the northern 
states, though it proves so in all latitudes south of Wash- 




Fig. 69.— GLOBE ARTICnOKE. 



ARTICHOKE — BEAN. 



181 



ington. Here it is necessary on the approach of winter 
to draw the leaves together and earth up around them, 
and later to cover the tops with litter. 

ARTICHOKE, JERUSALEM — (Helianthus tuberosus.) 

This is an entirely different plant from the above, but 
as the two are sometimes confounded, we give engravings 
of both. The edible portion of this is the tuber, while 
that of the Globe Arti- 
choke is the scales sur- 
rounding the flowers. 
The tubers of the 
Jerusalem Artichoke 
somewhat resemble the Fi ^- 70 — jbbusamsm artichoke. 
potato in appearance, and the plant produces immense 
crops. But few persons in this country like the flavor, 
and it is rarely grown unless for stock or as a curiosity. 
Its culture is similar to the potato ; it has stems, leaves, 
and flowers, much like the common sunflower. 

BEAN, (Phaseolus vulgaris var. nanus.) — BUSH, SNAP, OR KIDNEY. 

An indispensable vegetable, of easy cultivation, grow- 
ing freely on almost any soil, though on well enriched 
land, it will be more prolific in quantity and more tender 
in quality. It is a plant of tropical origin, and like all 
such, should not be sown until the weather is settled and 
warm, and all danger from frost is past. In this latitude, 
the time of sowing should not be sooner than the 15th of 
May. Sow at intervals of two or three weeks, all through 
the season, if wanted for use. Seed may be sown in drills 
18 to 24 inches apart, and three inches deep, dropping 
the seeds at distances of two or three inches in the drills, 
and covering to the general level. To such as use them 
all through the season, three or four quarts would be re- 




182 



GAKDE^IKG FOE PLEASUKE. 



quired, although a quart at one sowing would give an am- 
ple quantity for any average family. The varieties most 
in use at present are Early Valentine, Early China, Mo- 
hawk, Fejee, Black Wax, and Refugee. 

BEAN— POLE OR RUNNING, (PJiaseolus vulgaris), AND LIMA, 
(Phaseolus lunatus). 

Pole Beans are usually cultivated in hills three or four 
feet apart. The poles, (which are best made of young 
cedar trees), should be nine or ten feet high, and firmly 
fixed at least eighteen inches deep in the ground, and the 
hills formed around them by digging up the soil and 
mixing it with a shovelful of well rotted manure, or an 
ounce or so of guano or bone-dust, if the stable manure 
is not attainable ; but in either case let the mixing be 
thorough. The hills should be but two or three inches 
above the general level, and at least eighteen inches in 
diameter. The term "hill" is an unfortunate one, as it 
often leads inexperienced persons to suppose that a tall 
heap must be made, and it is a common mistake to form 
miniature hills often a foot or more in hight, upon which 
to sow seeds or set plants ; the effect of this is to confine 
the roots to this small high and dry space. When the 
word "hill" is used m this work, it is to indicate the 
place plants are to occupy, and unless some hight is 
mentioned, it is not above the general level. After the 
hill has been properly formed around the pole, from five 
to six beans should be planted around it at a depth of 
two inches, but the planting should never be" done in this 
latitude before the 20th of May. In all our experience 
as seedsmen, we know of no seed that is so universally 
replanted as Lima Beans. I think it safe to say, that at 
least half of all the people who buy, plant before the 
ground is dry and warm, and then tell us that the seed 
must have been bad, because it rotted in the ground. In 



BEAK — BEET. 



183 



the hurry of business we have not always time to explain 
why they rotted, and would here state for the sake of our- 
selves and cotemporaries, that the reason why the Limas 
fail to grow in 99 cases out of 100, is, that they are planted 
too early, and that it is no fault of the seed, which is 
rarely imperfect. The proper method of planting Lima 
Beans is to push each one singly into the soil, with the 
eye downward ; the embryo is so very broad and flat that 
it is difficult for it to turn itself as smaller seeds do when 
placed in a wrong position. 

The Large White Lima is the variety that is most 
prized. 

The Giant Wax makes pods nine inches in length, 
and is a very productive variety. 

The London Horticultural is used as snaps or shelled. 

The Scarlet Runner is a highly ornamental variety, 
producing dazzling scarlet flowers during the whole 
summer. It is used mainly as a snap bean. Lima Beans 
are usually only planted once in this latitude, as they 
take nearly the whole season to mature. From thirty 
to fifty poles are sufficient for ordinary use ; this will re- 
quire from one to two quarts of seed. 

BEET, (Beta vulgaris.) 

Sow in shallow drills twelve to eighteen inches apart 
in April or May, dropping the seeds so that they will fall 
an inch or so apart. When the plants have grown to the 
hight of about two inches, thin out, so that they will 
stand four inches apart. When the roots are three inches 
in diameter, they are fit for use. Of course they are used 
when much larger, but the younger they are, the more 
delicate and tender. The varieties cultivated are lim- 
ited to a few : 



184 



GARDEXIXG FOR PLEASURE. 



Early Egyptian.- 
earliest. 



■A round, deep red variety, is the 



Early Bassano. — A light salmon colored variety. 



(V 



Early Blood Turnip. 
— Later than either of 
the above, but best for 
general crop. 

Long Smooth Pied. — 
A long variety, best for 
winter use. About six 
ounces of seed will give 
300 feet of row; enough 
for ordinary use unless 
succession crops are 
wanted, then double 
the quantity will be 
required. 

BORECOLE OR KALE, 

(Brassica okracea car.) 



The rather indefinite 
name of S€ sprouts" is 
given to this vegetable 
about New York. It 
is sown here in Sep- 
tember, in rows one foot apart, treated in every way as 
spinach, and is ready for use in early spring. Four 
ounces of seed is sufficient to sow 300 feet of row. Two 
varieties of this, but little grown here, are "the "Scotch 
Kale," or " Curled Greens," and the " Dwarf German 
Greens." The former is of a deep green color, the latter 
bluish purple, both varieties are much curled, almost 
like parsley. The seeds of these are sown in May, and 
transplanted in July, just as we do late cabbages, at dis- 
tances of two feet apart each way. These " Greens," of 




EGYPTIAN BEET. 



BROCCOLI. 



185 



either variety, when touched by frost, are the most ten- 
der and delicate of all the cabbage tribe, and it has al- 
ways been a matter of wonder to me, why their cultiva- 
tion has not been more general in this country. In 
Britain they are used very extensively as a winter vege- 
table. The most popular German variety is Purple Bore- 
cole. The most popular English variety is Cottager's 
Kale, very hardy and profitable, more weight being grown 
of it in the same space than of any other variety. 

BROCCOLI, (Brassica oleracea var.) 

We persist in growing under the two distinct names of 
Broccoli and Cauliflower, plants which at best are noth- 
ing more than very nearly related varieties. The main 
difference between them is, that what we call Broccoli, 
is planted for fall use, while that which we call Cauli- 
flower is planted for spring or summer use ; though in 
this respect they are frequently reversed without seeming 
to mind it. For fall use the seed should be sown in the 
early part of May, which will give plants large enough to 
be set out in July. Further south the sowing of the seed 
should be delayed from four to six weeks later, and 
the plants be set out correspondingly later. Here we 
put them out in July, though further south it may be 
delayed to August or September. In the mild autumn 
weather of those latitudes this vegetable may be had in 
perfection from November to March, while with us, if 
planted out in July it matures during October and No- 
vember. The plants are set at two and a half to three 
feet apart, and as a hundred plants are all that most 
families would use, it is cheaper to buy them, if in a 
section where they are sold, than to raise the plants 
from seed. It requires an abundance of manure. The 
varieties are : 

White and Purple Cape. — There is no difference in 



186 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



flavor, though the white is the most pleasant looking 
vegetable when cooked. 

BRUSSELS SPROUTS, {Brassica oleraoea var.) 

This vegetable, as the engraving shows, is a variety of 
the cabbage which forms scarcely any terminal bud or 
head, but the buds along the stem, which in the ordi- 




Fig. 72. — BRUSSELS SPROUTS. 

nary cabbage remain small, are in this developed into 
small heads, which are the edible portion. This is much 
more used in Europe than with us ; though it is not suffi- 
ciently hardy to endure our northern winters, it will 
stand in our latitude until Christmas. Its cultivation 
is exactly similar in all respects to that of Broccoli, ex- 



CAULIFLOWER. 187 

cept that it may be planted closer, say from one and a 
half to two feet apart. 

CAULIFLOWER, (Brassica oleracea var.) 

There is quite an ambition among amateur gardeners 
to raise early cauliflower, but as the conditions necessary 
to success with this are not quite so easy to command as 
with most other vegetables, probably not one in three 




Fig. 73.— CAULIFLOWEB. 



who try it succeed. In England, and most places on the 
continent of Europe, it is the most valued of all vegeta- 
bles, and is grown there nearly as easily as early cabbages. 
But it must be remembered that the temperature there is 
on the average ten degrees lower at the time it matures, 
(June), than with us ; besides their atmosphere is much 
more humid, two conditions essential to its proper devel- 
opment. I will briefly state how early cauliflowers can 
be most successfully grown here. First, the soil must 
be well broken, and pulverized by spading to at least a 
foot in depth, mixing through it a layer of three or four 



188 



GAKDEKING FOE PLEASUEE. 



inches of strong, well rotted, stable manure. The plants 
may be either those from seed sown last fall and 
wintered over in cold frames, or else started from 
seeds sown in January or February, in a hot-bed or 
greenhouse, and planted in small pots or boxes, so 
as to make plants strong enough to be set out as 
soon as the soil is fit to work, which in this latitude 
is usually the first week in April. We are often applied 
to for cauliflower plants as late as May, but the chances 
of their forming heads when planted in May, are slim 
indeed. The surest way to secure the heading of cauli- 
flowers is to use what are called hand-glasses, some of 
which are described in the chapter on Implements. 
These are usually made about two feet square, which 
gives room enough for three or four plants of cauliflower, 
until they are so far forwarded that the glass can be taken 
off. When the hand-glass is used, the cauliflowers may 
be planted out in any warm border early in March and cov- 
ered by them. This covering protects them from frosts 
at night, and gives the necessary increase of temperature 
for growth during the cold weeks of March and April ; 
so that by the first week in May, if the cauliflower has 
been properly hardened off by ventilating, (by tilting up 
the hand-glasses on one side), they may be taken off 
altogether, and then used to forward tomatoes, melons, 
or cucumbers, at which date these may be started, if 
under the protection of hand-glasses. If the weather is 
dry, the cauliflowers will be much benefitted by being 
thoroughly soaked with water twice or thrice a week ; 
not a mere sprinkling, which is of no use, but a complete 
drenching, so that the water will reach to the lowest 
roots. Those planted later are set out and treated in the 
same manner ns cabbages. The two best varieties of 
cauliflower we have found as yet, are the Dwarf Erfurt 
and Early Paris, 



CABBAGE. 



189 



CABBAGE, (Brassica oleracea var.) 

The cabbage is so easily raised that but little space 
need be devoted to it 
here ; like all of its 
tribe, it requires an 
abundance of manure 
for its full develop- 
ment. The early va- 
rieties should be either 
raised in cold-frames 
or in hot-beds, as 
stated for cauliflow- 
er, and planted out at Fi *- 74.-cabbage-eaely w™gstadt. 

distances of from twenty to thirty inches apart each way, 

,<<• V-.' , ... 





Fig. 75.— CABBAGE— SAVOY. 

as early as the ground is fit to work in April. The best 



190 



GAEDEHIKG FOE PLEASURE. 



early varieties are Early Summer, Early Wakefield, Early 
York, and Early Oxheart. As an intermediate variety 
the Winningstadt is very popular ; it has a sharply con- 
ical head, and sometimes grows quite large. 

For late varieties, the seed should be sown in May, and 
the plants set out in July at two to three feet apart. For 

winter use the 
large Drum- 
head is usually 
grown, to the 
exclusion of all 
others, and 
while the Curl- 
ed Savoy is 
vastly better 
flavored, not 
one Savoy is 
planted for 
every thousand 
Drumhea d. 
The flavor of 
the Savoy is as 
superior to that 
of the Drum- 
head, as that 
of a Bartlett 
to that of a choke pear, and it is altogether the best late 
cabbage for family use. 

CARROT, {Daucus Carota.) 

Carrots are sown any time from April to June, in rows 
one foot apart, covering the seed two inches deep. If the 
soil is light, they will be better flavored. When the plants 
are an inch or so high, thin out to three or four inches 
apart. The varieties most in use are Early French Forcing, 
Early Horn and Long Orange. Eight ounces of seed will 




Fig. 76. 



-VARIETIES OF THE 
CARROT. 



Fig. 1. — EARLY FRENCH FORCING. 
Fig. 2. — EARLY HORN. 
Fig. 3. — LONG ORANGE. 



CELERY. 



191 



sow 300 feet of row, which, for most families, would be 
an abundance, both for summer and winter use. Carrots 
are much prized as food for horses and cows, and if 
wanted for this purpose in quantity, they should be sown 
with a seed-drill, in rows one and a half to two feet 
apart ; about four pounds of seed per acre is required. 

CELERY, (Apium graveolens.) 

If I am fitted to instruct on the cultivation of any veg- 
etable, it is this, as for many years I have cultivated 
nearly half a million roots annually, and this experience 
has resulted in greatly simplifying the operation. The 
seeds are sown on a well pulverized rich border, as early 
in the season as the ground can be worked. The bed is 
kept clear of weeds until July, when the- plants are set 
out for the crop. But as the seedling plants are rather 
troublesome to raise, the small number wanted for private 
use, can usually be purchased cheaper than they can be 
raised on a small scale, (they rarely cost more than $1 per 
100), and if they can be procured fresh from the market 
gardeners in the neighborhood, it is never worth while to 
sow the seed. The European plan is to make a trench 
six or eight inches deep, in which to plant celery, but 
our violent rain storms in summer soon showed us that 
this plan was not a good one here, so we set about plant- 
ing on the level surface of the ground, just as we do 
with all vegetables. Celery is a " gross feeder," and re- 
quires an abundance of manure, which, as usual, must be 
well mixed and incorporated with the soil, before the cel- 
ery is set out. When the ground is well prepared, we 
stretch a line to the distance required, and beat it 
slightly with a spade, so that it leaves a mark to show 
where to place the plants. These are set out at distances 
of six inches between the plants, and usually four feet 
between the rows. Great care must be taken in put- 



192 



GARDEXXXG FOR PLEASURE. 



ting out the celery, to see that the plant is set just to 
the depth of the roots, if much deeper, the "heart 53 
might be too much covered up, which would impede the 
growth. It is also important that the soil be well packed 
to the root in planting, and if the operation can be done 
in the evening, and the plants copiously watered, no 
farther attention will be required. 

If planted in July, nothing is to be done but keep the 
crop clear of weeds until September; by that time the 
handling process is to be begun, which consists in draw- 
ing the earth to each side of the celery, and pressing it 




Fig. 77. — "handling" celery. 



tightly to it, so as to give the leaves an upward growth 
preparatory to blanching for use. Supposing this" hand- 
ling process is done by the middle of September, by the 
first week in October it is ready for " banking up/' which 
is done by digging the soil from between the rows and 
laying or banking it up on each side of the row of celery; 
after being so banked up in October, it will be ready for 
use in thrtfe or four weeks if wanted at that time. But 
if, as is usually the case, it is needed for winter use only, 
and is to be put away in trenches, or in the cellar, as 
will be hereafter described, all that it requires is the 
operation of "handling." If the celery is to be left in 
the open ground where it was grown, then a heavy bank 



CELERY. 



193 



must be made on each side of the rows, and as cold 
weather approaches — say in this latitude by the middle 
of November — an additional covering of at least a foot 
of leaves or litter, must be closely packed against the 
bank, to protect it from frost. 

Perhaps the best wav to keep celery for family use, is 
in a cellar ; this can be done by storing it in narrow box- 
es, of a depth a little less than the hight of the celery. 
A few inches of sand or soil is placed in the bottom of 
the box, and the celery is packed upright ; the roots 
being placed on the sand at the bottom, none being put 




Fig. 78. — " BANKING up" celeby. 



between the heads. Boxes thus packed and placed in a 
cool cellar in November, will be blanched fit for use dur- 
ing January, February, and March, though for succes- 
sion, it will be better to put it in the boxes from the 
open ground at three different times, say October 25th, 
November 10th, and November 20th. Or if boxes are 
not at hand, the celery may be put away on the floor of 
the cellar in strips of nine or ten inches wide, separated 
by spaces of the same width, divided by boards of a 
width equal to the hight of the celery. The reason for 
dividing the celery in these narrow strips by boards, is to 
prevent the heating, which would take place if placed 
together in too thick masses. The dates above given 
9 



194 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



apply, of course, to the latitude of New York ; if 
further south, do the work later ; if further north, 
earlier. If one has no suitable cellar, the celery can he 
very readily preserved in the manner followed by market 
gardeners. 

After it has been "handled" or straightened up, as 
before described, what is intended for use by Christmas, 
should be dug up by about October 25th ; that to be 
used in J anuary and February, by November 10th, and 
that for March use, by November 20th, which latter date 
is as late as it can be risked here ; although it will stand 
quite a sharp frost, the weather by the end of November is 



often severe enough to kill it, or so freeze it in the ground 
that it cannot be dug up. The ground in which it is 
to be preserved for winter use, must be as dry as possi- 
ble, and so arranged that no water can remain in the 
trench. Dig a trench as narrow as possible, (it should not 
be wider than ten inches), and of a depth equal to the 
hight of the celery, that is, if the plant of celery be 
eighteen inches high, the trench should be dug eighteen 
inches deep. The celery is then packed exactly in the 
manner described for storing in boxes to be placed in the 
cellar ; that is, stand it as near upright as possible, and 
pack as closely together as can be done without bruising 




Fig. 79. — STORING CELERY IN TRENCHES 



FOR WINTER. 



CELERIAC, OR TURNIP-ROOTED CELERY. 195 



it. As the weather becomes cold, the trenches should be 
gradually covered with leaves or litter, to the thickness 
of six or eight inches, which will be enough to prevent 
severe freezing, and enable the roots to be taken out 
easily when wanted. Fig. 79 represents this method of 
storing celery in trenches for winter use. 

From 200 to 500 roots is the number usually required 
by an ordinary 
family. ' The va- 
rieties we recom- 
mend, are the San- 
dringham White 
and Dwarf Red. 
The red is as yet 
but little used 
in this country, 
though the flavor 
is better, and the 
plant altogether 
hardier than the 
white. 



CELERIAC, OR TUR- 
NIP-ROOTED CEL- 
ERY, (Apium graveo- 
lens var.) 

Is grown almost 
the same as the 
common celery, 
and as it requires 
but little earth- 
ing-up, the rows 
may be nearer to- 
gether. ItS tur- 8 °— CELEEIAC, OE TTJE1NTP-EOOTED CELEET. 

nip-like root is used as a salad, mostly by the French and 
Germans. It is sometimes stewed, but usually simply 
boiled, sliced, and dressed as a salad for the table. 




196 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



CORN-SALAD OR FETTICUS, (Fedia olitoriu.) 

This is sold to a considerable extent in spring in the city 
markets for use as an early salad. 
For mode of cultivation, etc., see 
Spinach, as it is grown in exactly 
the same manner. 

CHIVES, (Allium Schcenoprasum.) 

An entirely hardy onion - like 
plant, of easy culture ; it will grow 
on almost any soil for years, with- 
out being transplanted. The leaves 
are the part used, and may be shorn off every two weeks 
during summer. It is propagated by tearing to pieces the 
old clumps and setting the divisions in rows a foot apart. 

CRESS OR PEPPER GRASS, (Lepidium sativum.) 

A spring and summer salad plant ; sow in early spring, 
and in succession, every week or so if desired, in rows 
one foot apart. The curled variety is the best, as it can 
be used for garnishing, as well as for salad. 

CRESS- WATER, (Xasturtium officinale.) 

A hardy aquatic plant, which can only be properly cul- 
tivated where there are running streams. If there is a 
brook on the place, all that would be wanted for private 
use may be had by setting a few plants or sowing seeds 
in spring on the margin of the water. 

CORN, (Zea Mays.) 

The varieties known as " Sweet/' are the kinds cultiva- 
ted to be used in the green state. Corn may either be 
planted in "13116," dropping three or four seeds in a hill 
four feet apart each way, or in rows five feet apart, drop* 




CUCUMBER. 



197 



ping the seeds at distances of eight or ten inches in the 
rows. In this latitude it is useless to plant corn before 
the middle of May. For succession crops it should be 
planted every two or three weeks until July first ; 
after that date it will not mature here. Corn requires a 
rich light soil to be early. The leading varieties are 
Dwarf Early Sugar for first early, Crosby's Early Sugar 
for second, and Stowell's Evergreen for main crops. Three 
or four quarts is required, if succession crops are sown ; 
if only one crop, two or three pints will be sufficient. 



CUCUMBER, (Cucumis sativus.) 




In most places where the Cucumber is grown out-doors, 
it is more or less troubled with the " Striped Bug," but 
if only a few dozen hills are cultivated, it is not a very 
troublesome matter to pick them off, which is about the 
only sure way to get rid of them. The safest method of 
raising cucumbers, however, is to cover the seeds when 
first sown, with the hand-glass described in chapter on 
Implements ; which by the 
time they are wanted for 
cucumbers, are no longer 
needed over cauliflowers. If 
such hand-glasses are not ob- 
tainable, a simple method is 
to use a light box ten or 
twelve inches square, to place 
over the seeds after sowing, 
covering it with a pane of 
glass ; this will not only forward the germination of the 
seeds, but will protect the plants against the bugs, until 
they are strong . enough not to be injured by them. 
Bryant's Plant Protector, a simple article, made of light 
strips of wood, covered by mosquito netting, may be used 
instead of a hand-glass. This will be found equally 



Fig. 82. 

BRYANT'S PLANT PROTECTOR. 



198 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



valuable for protecting all plants liable to the attacks of 
flying insects, and against the light frosts, so often inju- 
rious to tender plants. Light, sandy soil is rather best 
for cucumbers; the "hills" should be prepared in the 
same manner as for Lima Beans, but set three feet 
apart, dropping five or six seeds in each hill. Cucum- 
bers may be sown about the middle of May, and in suc- 
cession, every three or four weeks, until July. The 
White Spine and Long Green Prickly are favorite varie- 
ties. The Gherkin or Burr is by some used for pickling. 



EGG PLANT, {Solarium Melongena.) 

This is always an interesting vegetable to cultivate 
being worthy of a place as an or- 
namental plant, as well as being 
much prized for culinary use. It 
is a native of the Tropics, and 
peculiarly tender. We find the 
seeds will not germinate freely 
under a temperature of seventy 
degrees ; and even then, often 
tardily, unless the conditions are 
just right. Nothing suits them 
so well as a warm hot-bed, and to 
get plants of the proper size to be 
set in the open ground by the end 
of May, the seeds should be sown 
early in March, and the plants 
potted into small pots when an 
inch or so in hight. But as only 
a dozen or two plants are needed 
for a family, whenever the plants 
can be purchased conveniently, it 
trouble to attempt the raising of them from seeds, unless 
indeed there is room in a hot-bed, or hot-house used 




Fig. 83. — EGG PLANT. 

is never worth the 



ENTDIVE — HERBS, 



199 



for other purposes. Do not plant out sooner than the 
25th of May, unless they can be protected by hand- 
glasses. Set at distances of four feet apart, preparing 
the hills as described for Lima Beans. Each plant should 
average a dozen fruits, which will weigh from ten to 
forty ounces each. The best flavored variety in our 
opinion is the Black Pekin, but the most prolific is the 
Xew York Market. A pure pearly white variety is highly 
ornamental, and also of excellent flavor. The Egg Plant 
is usually fried in slices, but there are other methods to 
be found in the proper authorities in such matters. 

EXDIYE, (Ckhorium Fndk'ia.) 

A plant related to the lettuce. If sown in early spring, 
either in hot-bed or in the open ground, in April, it will 
be ready in May. Set out at distances of fifteen inches 
apart. It is mostly used towards fall, however, and when 
wanted at that time, should be sown in June or July, and 
set out in August and September ; nothing further is 
done after planting but hoeing to keep down the weeds, 
until it attains its full growth, which is from twelve to 
eighteen inches in diameter. It is then "blanched," 
either by gathering up the leaves and tying them by 
their tops in a conical form, or by placing a slate, or flat 
stone, on the plant to exclude the light and effect the 
blanching. It is used as a salad. The varieties are the 
Moss Curled and Plain-leaved Batavian. 

HERBS-SWEET. 

Thyme, Sage, Basil, Sweet Marjoram, and Summer 
Savory are those in general use : the seeds of all ex- 
cept the last named, should be so^vn in shallow drills, 
one foot apart in May, and the plants will be fit for use 



200 GARDEKIKG FOR PLEASURE. 

in September and October. Summer Savory does better 
if the seeds are sown where the plants are to grow. 

GARLIC, (AUium sativum.) 

Is used mostly by Europeans ; it grows freely on any 
soil ; the sets, obtained by breaking up the old bulbs, are 
planted in early spring in rows one foot apart, and fire or 




Fig. 84. — GABLIC BULBS. Fig. 85.— HOBSERADISH ROOT. 

six inches between the plants. When the leaves wither, 
the bulbs are taken up and hung in a dry, cool place. 

HORSERADISH, {Nasturtium Armoracia.) 

For family use a few roots of this should be planted in 
some out-of-the-way corner of the vegetable garden ; a 
dozen roots, once planted, will usually give enough for a 
life-time, as it increases and spreads so that there is never 
any danger of being without it ; the trouble is, if it is 
once admitted into the garden, it is difficult to be got 
rid of if so desired. 



KOHLRABI — LEEK. 



201 



KOHLRABI, OR TURNIP-ROOTED CABBAGE, (Brassica oleraceavar.) 



This vegetable resembles a turnip, but is regarded as a 

variety of the cab- 
bage, with a fleshy 
edible stem. Seeds 
should be sown in 
rows fifteen or eigh- 
teen inches apart, in 
May or June, and 
when an inch high, 
thinned out to nine 
or ten inches. It is 
a favorite vegetable 
with the Germans, 
and immense quan- 
tities are sold in the 




Fig. 86. — KOHLRABI. 

markets of ~New York in 
the fail. There are two va- 
rieties, White and Purple. 

LEEK, (Allium Porrurn.) 

Sow in April, and plant 
out in June or July, in 
rows one foot apart and 
six inches between the 
plants. It is used mainly 
during the winter months ; 
it is an entirely hardy 
plant, yet in order that it 




Fig. 87. — LEEK, 



202 



GARDEKIKG FOR PLEASURE. 



may be handy to get at in winter, it is better to put it in 
trenches, as advised for preserving celery. 

LETTUCE, {Lactuca sativa.) 

Lettuce should be sown in a hot-bed or greenhouse if 
wanted early ; seeds sown there in February will give nice 
plants to set out in April, to mature in May, or if it is 
sown in the open ground in April and planted out in 
May, it will mature in June, and so on through the 
summer season if succession crops are desired, as it only 
takes from five to six weeks to mature. The great excel- 
lence of lettuce consists in its freshness, and it can rarely 
be purchased in perfect condition ; hence, those who 
would enjoy it in its best state should raise it themselves. 

For early use, to be ready in May, the Curled Silesia 
and Boston Market are the best ; while for summer use, 
the Curled India and Plain Drumhead should be sown, 
as they do not readily run to seed. The Cos varieties are 
mainly used in Europe, and are by far the best flavored ; 
but from their tendency to run to seed in our warmer 
climate, are but little cultivated, though they might be 
safely grown in the cool weather, in spring, or in fall. 
An ounce of seed of each variety will be ample. 

MARTYNIA, {Martynia prdboscidea,) 

The unripe pods taken when perfectly tender, are used 
for pickling. They must be gathered every day or two, 
or some will become hard and useless. Sow in open 
ground in May, and transplant to two feet each way in 
June. 

MELON, MUSK, (Cucumis Mclo.) 

The cultivation of the Melon is almost identical with 
that of the cucumber, to which reference may be made. 



MELO^. 



203 



The varieties are numerous, those named below are the 
most popular. 

Green Citron. — Medium size, deeply netted, almost 

round in shape, 
flesh green, de- 
liciou's flavor. 

White Japan. 
— A distinct and 
white - skinned 
sort, flesh yellow, 
richly flavored. 

Ispahan. — A 
valuable variety 
for the southern 
states, but too 
late to mature 
in the north. It 
grows to upwards 
of a foot in 
length; skin, 
when fully ripe, 
light yellow ; 
flesh yellowish- 
white, with a rich 
perfume and fla- 
vor. Cassala is 
a related variety, and in most seasons ripens with us. 

Ward's Nectar and Shillmari's Netted, are among the 
best for the family garden. 

MELON, WATER, (Citrullus vulgaris.) 

The cultivation of the Water Melon is in all respects 
similar to that of the Musk Melon, except that being a 
larger and stronger growing plant, it requires to be 
planted at greater distances. The hills should not be 




Fie:. 88. — MART YNIA. 



204 



GARDEKIKG FOR PLEASURE. 



less than eight feet apart each way. It delights in 
light sandy soil, and will not grow satisfactorily on 
heavy, clayey soils. The leading sorts are : 

Mountain Sprout. — A large-sized, red-fleshed variety, 
of excellent flavor. 

PMnney's Early. — Flesh of a deep red, very sweet. 




Fig. 89.— -WATER-MELON— PHINNET'S EARLY. 



Ice Cream.— A. white-fleshed variety, and one of the 
earliest ; best to be grown in northern or eastern states. 

Orange. — So called because the flesh parts readily from 
the rind when ripe. The flesh is red, and rather coarse ; 
it keeps longer than any other. 

Rattlesnake, also called Joe Johnson, is a fine variety 
for the southern states, and is largely grown for shipment 
to the northern markets. 

MUSTARD, {Sinapis alba.) 

For use and cultivation see Cress. 

MUSHROOM, (Agaricus campestiris.) 

Many who have a taste for horticultural pursuits grow 
mushrooms as much for the novelty of the thing as for 
the use, for it is certainly very gratifying for an ama- 



MUSHROOM. 



205 



teur to find that he has succeeded with a crop of this cu- 
rious vegetable in mid-winter, when everything outside 
is frost-locked and snow-bound. I have said that the 
novelty is attractive, for in growing all other plants the 
cultivator sees something tangible to start with, either 
seeds, plants, or roots, but with the mushroom it may be 
said he sees neither, for no seeds can be discovered either 
with the naked eye or with a magnifier, and it requires 
some faith to believe the minute thread-like substance 
we call " spawn/ 5 to be either plants or roots. 

Mushrooms are always raised in the dark, and any 
cellar, stable, or an out-house of any sort, wherein a 
temperature of 45° to G5° can be commanded, will grow 
them. There are various methods followed by mushroom 
growers, but I will only give one, premising that if the 
directions given are strictly followed, success is just as 
certain as in growing a crop of peas or potatoes. Let 
horse droppings be procured from the stables each clay, 
in quantities not less than a barrow load ; to every bar- 
row load of droppings, add half the quantity of fresh 
loam, from a pasture or sod land, or soil of any kind 
that has not been manured, (the objection to old ma- 
nured soil being that it may contain the spores of spuri- 
ous fungi.) Let the droppings and soil be mixed to- 
gether day by day, as the manure can be procured ; or 
if they can be had all at once in sufficient quantity, so 
much the better. Let the heap, (which should be under 
cover), be turned every day, so that it is not allowed to 
heat violently until you have got together a sufficient 
quantity to form a bed of the desired size. From the 
prepared droppings and soil, begin to form the bed. A 
convenient width is four feet, and the length may be as 
great as desired. First spread a thin layer of the com- 
post, pounding it down firmly with a brick or mallet, 
layer after layer, until it reaches a depth of eight inches. 
Be careful that the thickness is just about eight inches, 



206 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



as if more, it would heat too violently, and if less, it 
would not heat enough. Into this bed plunge a ther- 
mometer ; in two or three days the bed will heat, so that 
the thermometer will rise to 100° or over. As soon as the 
temperature declines to 90°, take a sharp stick and make 
holes an inch or so in diameter all oyer the bed, at about a 
foot apart, and six inches deep ; into these holes drop 
two or three pieces of "spawn," and cover up the hole 
again with the compost of which the bed is made, and 
beat it slightly again, so that the bed will present the 
same level surface as before the spawn was put in. Let 
the bed remain in this condition for ten or twelve days, 
by which time the spawn will have run all through it. 
Now spread evenly over the surface of the bed about two 
inches of fresh loam, press it down moderately with the 
back of a spade, and cover up the bed with hay or straw 
to the thickness of three or four inches. If this opera- 
tion is finished in November or December, and the place 
has an average temperature of 55°, you may look out for 
a crop in January or February. The bed will continue 
bearing about three or four weeks, and the crop is usually 
enormous, often producing a bushel on two square yards 
of space. After the first crop is gathered, a second, and 
even a third, can be taken if desired, from the same bed 
without further trouble than to spread a little fresh soil 
on the surface, giving it a gentle watering and covering 
up with hay as before. Great care must be taken that 
after placing the spawn in the newly made bed, the 
earth covering is not put on sooner than ten or twelve 
days ; in my first attempt at mushroom growing, I failed 
two years in succession, because I put on the soil 
when the spawn was first put into the bed ; by so doing, 
the steam arising from the manure was prevented from 
passing off, and the result was, that the spawn rotted. I 
believe this very common error is the cause of most of 
the failures in raising mushrooms. 



NASTURTIUM — OKRA. 



207 



NASTURTIUM — INDIAN CRESS, (Tropceolum majm.) 



A highly ornamental plant, cultivated in flower-gar- 
dens as well as in the kitchen garden. The shoots and 
flowers are some- 
times used in 
salads, but it is 
mainly grown for 
its fruit or seed 
pods, which are 
pickled in vine- 
gar and used as 
a substitute for 
capers. The plant 
is of the easiest 
culture. Sow in 
shallow drills in 
May. The tall 
variety will reach, 
a hight of ten or 
fifteen feet if 
furnished with 
strings or wires, 
and makes an 
excellent screen 
for shade, or for 
quickly covering 

up and conceal- 90 -- 
ing any unsightly place. The dwarf variety is grown 
like peas, and staked with brush. 

OKRA OR GUMBO, (Abelmoschus esculentus.) 

A vegetable of the easiest culture. Sow in drills in 
May, three feet apart for dwarf, and four feet for tall 
sorts, in drills two or three inches deep. The long pods 
when very young and tender, are used in soups, stews, 
etc., and are very nutritious. 




-OKRA. 



208 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



ONION, (Allium cepa.) 

Onions are raised either by "sets," which are small 
dry onions grown the previous year, or from seeds. When 
grown from the sets, they should be planted out as early 
in spring as the ground is dry enough to work ; plant 
them in rows one foot apart, with sets three or four 
inches apart. When raised from sets, the onions can 
be used in the green state in June, or they will be 
ripened off by July. When raised from seeds, these are 
sown at about the same distance between the rows, and 
when the young plants are an inch or so high, they are 
thinned out to two or three inches apart. It is import- 
ant that onion-seed be sown very early. In this lati- 
tude it should be sown not later than the middle of 
April, for if delayed until May, warm weather sets in 
and delays, or rather prolongs the growth until fall, and 
often the bulbs will not ripen ; we find that unless the 
onion-tops dry off and the bulbs ripen by August, they 
will hardly do so later. The best known sorts are White 
Portugal or Silver Skinned, Yellow Dutch or Strasburg, 
and Wethersfield Eed. 

Two kinds are grown exclusively from bulbs ; one of 
these is the Potato Onion, or " Multipliers," which in- 
crease by the bulb splitting up and dividing itself into 
six or eight smaller bulbs, which in turn form the sets 
to plant for the next crop. The other variety is what is 
called "Top Onion," which forms little bulbs on the 
stem in the place of flowers ; these are in clusters, and 
about the size of hazel nuts. These small bulbs are 
broken apart and planted in spring at tlie-same distances 
as the "sets" referred to above ; all mature in August. 

PARSLEY, (Carum Petroselinum.) 

But a very small quantity of this is usually wanted in 
the family garden. Sow in shallow drills in April or 



PAKSNIP— PEA. 



209 



May. A good plan is to sow in shallow boxes as much as 
may be needed ; they can be placed wherever there is 
moderate light, and no frost ; by this means a fresh 
supply may be kept on hand in hard winter weather, 
when it is most desirable to have it, either for garnish- 
ing dishes or for other uses. The best variety to grow is 
the Moss, or Double Curled. 

PARSNIP, (Pastinaca saliva.) 




For mode of cultivation of parsnips, see carrot, as their 
culture is identical, except that this 
being hardy, can be left out in 
winter, while in this latitude carrots 
cannot. A portion of the crop may 
be dug and stored in the cellar or 
in trenches, and the remainder may 
be left until spring. The Hollow 
Crowned is best for general use. 

PEA, {Rsum sativum.) 

The pea is indispensable in the 
garden, and there is more satisfac- 
tion in growing it on one's own 
ground, than there is in raising any 
other vegetable. If too old when 
picked, or stale, which is too often 
the case when purchased from the 
dealers, peas have but little resem- 
blance to those taken directly from 
the vines. For an early crop peas 
should be one of the first things sown 
in the spring. We prefer to sow in double rows, which saves 
half the labor in staking or bushing up, and gives nearly 
the same crop to the row as if sown in single rows. 
Double rows are made at eight or nine inches apart, and 




Fig. 91.— PARSNIP. 



210 



GARDENING FOB PLEASURE. 



four feet from other rows. Set a line and draw the 
drills with a hoe three or four inches deep ; the seed 
should be sown to lay as near as possible an inch or so 
apart. The Sidney Seed-Sower, mentioned in the chapter 
on Implements, is a most convenient affair for sowing 
peas ; one can with a few minutes practice distribute the 
seed with great regularity. In order to haye a succession 
of crops of peas, they should be sown every two or three 
weeks until July. If succession crops are grown, an • 
average quantity for a family would be twelve quarts ; if 
only first crops of early and late, from four to six quarts 
will be sufficient. 

The varieties of peas are almost innumerable, and new 
sorts — or at least sorts with new names — are sent out 
every year. They may be classed in two groups, the 
round and the wrinkled peas. The round varieties are 
the earliest, but they are as much inferior to the wrinkled 
or marrow kinds, as field is to sweet corn; these two 
groups are subdivided according to hight. The earliest 
pea is Daniel O'Rourke, under some of its dozen or more 
names, for most of the "early" and "extra early" peas 
are only selected strains of this, which, under other names, 
dates back into the last century. It is of medium hight, 
productive, and valuable as yielding the earliest crops. 
The earliest of the wrinkled sorts is the Alpha, of medium 
hight. The standard late sort is the Champion of Eng- 
land, an old variety, which has not yet been superseded. 
The dwarf sorts, which grow only about a foot high and 
need no brush, are very handy in the family garden, as 
they may be used to occupy odd spaces. The leading 
dwarfs are Tom Thumb, early but round, and Little Gem, 
productive and of the best quality. Tha catalogues give 
the merits of numerous other sorts, early, medium, and 
late. 



PEPPER — POTATO — PUMPKIN. 



211 



PEPPER, or CAPSICUM, {Capsicum annuum.) 

The Pepper is sown and cultivated in all respects the 
same as the Egg-Plant, which may be referred to. The 
varieties are the Bull-Nose, or Bell, and the Cayenne. 

POTATO, (Solarium tuberosum.) 

Potatoes are grown by planting the tubers, either cut 
or whole, it makes but little difference which ; if large, 
cut them ; if small, leave them uncut. They are usually 
planted in drills three feet apart, and four or five inches 
deep. The ground should be prepared by first spreading 
in the drills a good coat of stable manure, say two inches 
deep, upon which are planted the tubers or sets, at dis- 
tances of eight or ten inches apart. In a warm exposure 
planting may be begun early in April, and the crop will 
be fit for use in June. Some of the small-leaved varieties 
such as the Ash-leaved Kidney, were formerly grown un- 
der hand glasses, or in frames, to forward them, but now 
this is hardly worth the trouble, as our supplies from 
southern latitudes are so early that it is no longer desir- 
able to force the crop. The generally favorite variety for 
early crops is still the Early Eose ; and for general crop, 
Peach-Blows; but there are scores of other varieties, 
which have a special or local reputation. 

PUMPKIN, (CucurUta Pepo.) 

Pumpkins are still grown in many gardens with a te- 
nacity that is astonishing, when it should long ago have 
been known that they have no business there, as their 
first cousins, the squashes, are eminently superior for 
every culinary purpose whatever. The Pumpkin is a val- 
uable product for the farm, as a food for cattle, but for 
nothing else. If people will waste valuable land in rais- 
ing pumpkins, they may plant them the same as directed 
for squashes. 



212 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



RADISH, (Raphanus sativus.) 

One of the first vegetables that we crave in spring is 
the Radish, and it is so easy of culture that every family 
can have it fresh, crisp, and in abundance. The 
smallest garden patch of a few feet square, will give 
enough for a family. It is sown either in drills or 
broadcast, care being taken that the seed is not put 
in too thickly ; from one to two inches apart either in 
drill or broadcast, being the proper distance, as usually 
every seed germinates. The best varieties are the Red 
and French Turnip, and the Short Top Long, Red, or 
White. If wanted specially early, the above sorts are 
best for hot-bed forcing ; for summer and winter use the 
yellow and gray varieties are preferred. 

RHUBARB OR PIE PLANT, (Hheum Ehaponticum.) 

Rhubarb may be planted in either fall or spring, using 
either plants raised from the seed, or sets obtained by di- 
visions of the old roots, taking care to have a bud to each. 
Set at distances of three or four feet apart each way. 
The place where each plant is to be set, should be dug 
eighteen inches deep and the same in width, and the 
soil mixed with two or three shovelfuls of well-rotted 
stable manure. Two dozen strong plants will be enough 
for the wants of an average family. If desired in winter 
or early spring, a few roots can be taken up and placed in 
a warm cellar or any such dark and warm place. The 
roots, if the cellar is dark, may be put in a box with 
earth around them, or if in a light cellar, they may be 
put in the bottom of a barrel with earth, and the top 
covered. The only care needed is to see- that the roots 
do not get too dry, and to water if necessary, when it 
will grow with but little care The useful portions is the 
long and thick leaf -stalks, and these when forced are 
much finer in flavor than when grown exposed to air and 



SALSIFY. 



213 



light in the open garden. The plants in the open ground 
should have the flower-stalks cut away as they appear. 




Fig. 92. — RHUBARB. 



In gathering do not cut the leaf-stalks, as they will read- 
ily come away by a side-wise pull, and leave no remnant 
to decay. The varieties are Myatt's Victoria and Linnseus. 

SALSIFY, OR OYSTER PLANT, (Tragapogon porrifolhis.) 

The culture of this vegetable is the same in all respects 
as for carrots, which see. Like the parsnip, it is hardy, 
and can be left out during winter in any district without 
injury from frost. It is rapidly becoming more popular. 



214 GAKDEJSIXG FOE PLEASURE. 

It is stewed like parsnips or carrots, is used to make soup, 




Fig. 93.— salsify. Fig. 94.— scorzoneba. 

which has a decided flavor of the oyster; or is first boiled 
and then fried. There is but one kind. 



SCORZONERA— BLACK SALSIFY, {Scorzonera Hispanica.) 

This is somewhat different in flavor from Salsify, and 



SEA KALE. 



215 



is preferred to it by many ; it has much broader leaves, 
but it is cultivated and used in the same manner. 

SEA KLAU S, (Crambe maritima.) 

Sea Kale is a favorite vegetable in European gardens, 
but here, as yet, almost unknown. Anticipating that at 
no distant day it may be as generally cultivated as it de- 
serves to be, I briefly describe the mode of culture. The 
seeds of Sea Kale should be sown in the greenhouse, or 
in a slight hot-bed in February or March, and when the 
plants are an inch or two in hight, they should be potted 
into two or three-inch pots and placed in a cold frame to 
harden, until sufficiently strong 
to be planted in the open 
ground. It should then be set 
out in rows three feet apart, 
with two feet between the 
plants, on land enriched as for 
any ordinary cabbage crop. If 
the plants and the soil in which 
they have been planted are both 
good, and cultivation has been 
properly attended to, by keeping 
the plants well hoed during the 
summer, it will have " crowns " 
strong enough to give a crop the 
next season. In the northern states it will be necessary 
to cover the rows with three or four inches of leaves, to 
protect the plants from frost. Sea Kale is only fit for 
use when ec blanched," and to effect this, on the approach 
of spring the " crowns" should be covered with some 
light material, such as sand or leaf-mold, to the depth of 
twelve or fifteen inches, so that the young shoot being 
thus excluded from the light, will become blanched in 
growing through this covering. Sometimes cans made 




216 



GARDENING FOE PLEASURE. 



for the purpose, or large flower-pots, or even wooden 
boxes, are inverted over the plants, the object in each 
case being to exclude the light. If it is desired to force 
Sea Kale, or forward it earlier, the materials used to 
make hot-beds, leaves or stable manure are heaped over 
the pots or cans in a sufficient quantity to generate the 
proper heat to forward or force on the growth of the 
plants. The young shoots are cut from the plant before 
the leaves are developed, and when cooked, have a flavor 
something between asparagus and cauliflower, but by 
most persons much preferred to either. The engraving 
shows a young shoot when ready for the table. 

SHALLOTS, {Allium Ascalonicum.) 

A plant of the onion genus, which is cultivated by set- 
ting out the divided roots in September in rows a foot 
apart, allowing six inches between them. It is entirely 
hardy, and fit for use in early spring. 

SPINACH, (JSjpinada oleracea.) 

Spinach is a vegetable of easy culture. It may either 
be sown in spring or fall. If in fall, the proper time is 
from the 10th to the 25th of September, in rows one foot 
apart ; sow rather thickly. Cover the plants with two 
or three inches of hay or leaves on the approach of severe 
frost in December. When sown in the fall, the crop of 
course is ready for use much earlier than when sown in 
spring, as half the growth is made in the fall months. 
By the time the seed can be sown in spring, the crop that 
has been wintered over will be coming into use. To fol- 
low the crop thus wintered, seeds should be sown in the 
same manner in spring, as early as the soil can be worked, 
and another sowing may be made two weeks later. The 
round-seeded variety is best for winter sowing, and the 
prickly seeded for spring. About four ounces is enough 
for ordinary wants for either season's sowing. 



SPINACH, SUBSTITUTES FOR. 



217 



SPINACH, SUBSTITUTES FOR. 

In the southern states, or even in our northern sum- 
mers, Spinach runs rapidly 
to seed, if sown in hot 
weather, and several plants 
may be used as substitutes. 
Among these are Swiss 
Chard, a species of beet, 
sometimes called Spinach 
Beet, or Perpetual Spinach. 
Young plants of the ordi- 
nary beet are by some pre- 
ferred to spinach ; ordinarily beets need thinning, and 
the seed is sometimes sown very thickly, in order that 
there may be an abundance of thinnings to use as spinach, 
or beet greens ; they are used with the young beet attach- 
ed, which should not be thicker than an ordinary lead- 
pencil ; if larger, the leaves will be too strong. Another 
substitute is 



NEW ZEALAND SPINACH, (Tetragonia expansa.) 

This is a remarkable plant, of low branching habit, 




jfig. 97. —NEW ZEALAND SPINACH. 

and grows with surprising luxuriance during hot 
10 




Fig. 96.— SWISS CHARD. 



218 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



weather. Single plants often measure from five to eight 
feet in diameter. The leaves are used exactly as ordinary 
spinach. It should not be sown before warm weather 
sets in in May, and the plants should be set out in hills 
three or four feet apart each way, 

SQUASH, (CucurUta Pepo and C maxima.) 

The summer varieties are, among others, the White 
and Yellow Bush and Summer Crookneck. As with 




Fig. 98.— SQUASH— WHITE BUSH. 

all plants of this class, it is useless to sow these before 
warm weather in May, and the directions given for cu- 
cumbers and melons, are alike applicable to the squash, 
except that the distances apart of the hills; these should 




Fig. 99. — SQUASH — SUMMER CROOKNECK. 



be from three to four feet for the bush sorts, and from 
six to eight for the other varieties which €€ run 93 or make 
a long vine. The fall or winter squashes are planted at 
the same time, but are allowed to mature or ripen, while 



SWEET POTATO. 



219 



the summer varieties are used green. They are usually 
planted eight or nine feet apart, in hills prepared in the 
usual way. These squashes are great feeders, and for 
the best results the soil should be well enriched, besides 
the special manuring in the hills, as the vines throw out 
roots at every joint to assist in feeding and maturing the 
heavy crop they usually bear. The popular varieties are 




Fig 1 . 100. — SQUASH — MABBLEHEAD. 



Hubbard, Marblehead, Yokohama, and Winter Crook- 
neck. Most of the winter varieties, if kept in a drv at- 
mosphere at a temperature from forty to fifty degrees, 
will keep until May. A garret room in a mocleratelv well 
heated dwelling house, will often be a very suitable place 
for storing them. 

SWEET POTATO. {Ipomaea Batatas,) 

It is useless to attempt to grow the Sweet Potato on 
anything but a light and dry soil. On clayey soils the 
plant not only grows poorly, but the potatoes raised upon 
such soil are watery, and poorly flavored. The plants 
are raised by laying the roots on their sides on a hot-bed 
or bench of a greenhouse, and covering them over with 



220 



GARDEXIXG FOR PLEASURE. 



sand, about the first week in May ; by keeping up 
an average temperature of 75° or 80°, fine plants will be 
produced by June 1st, at which time they should be 
planted in this vicinity. The plants are set in hills three 
feet apart each way, or on 
ridges four feet apart, and 
12 or 15 inches between 
the plants, drawing the 
earth up to them as they 
grow, until the top of the 
ridge or hill is four or six 
inches above the level. 
The soil under the ridges 
should be highly manured, 
and as the vines grow they 
should be kept clear of 
weeds ; when late in the 
season they show a dis- 
position to root at the 
joints, they must be 
moved every week or so ; 
this is easily done by run- 
ning a rake handle or 
other stick under the vines 
and lifting them sufficient- 
ly to draw out the small 
roots upon the stem. As 
is the case with many other 
vegetables of which the 
plants or sets are raised in 
large quantities for sale, it is better and cheaper when 
Sweet Potato plants are procurable, to' purchase them, 
than to attempt to raise the small number required in a 
private garden. A hundred plants not costing more than 
a dollar, are all that most families would require. The 
Nansemond is the favorite variety. 




Fig. 101. — SWEET POTATO. 



TOMATO — TUENIP. 



221 



TOMATO, (Lycopersicum esculentum.) 

If any vegetable is grown in a family garden, it is al- 
most certain to be the Tomato. Hundreds of people 
who have only a few feet of ground at their disposal, 
manage to cultivate a dozen or two of tomato-plants, 
though they may have nothing else ; so well is it known 
that I think few of my readers will require to be told 
much about its culture. The Tomato will grow any- 
where, and under almost any circumstances, provided 
always that it has the necessary high temperature ; it is 
essentially a plant of the Tropics, and need never be sown 
in a hot-bed here before March, or planted in the open 
ground before the middle of May. When cultivated in 
private gardens, the tomato-vine should always be pro- 
vided with some sort of trellis, or be tacked up against a 
fence or wall. By this treatment, not only will a heavier 
crop be obtained, but the flavor will be better ; when the 
fruit rests on the ground it has often an inferior flavor, 
particularly when eaten raw, and is also more apt to de- 
cay. A few dozen plants usually Suffice for an ordinary 
family, and if there are no hot-beds or other glass ar- 
rangements on hand, the plants had better be purchased, 
as they are sold cheaply everywhere. The favorite vari- 
eties are the Trophy, Champion Cluster, and Conqueror. 

TURNIP, (Brasska campestris.) 

The Turnip, if wanted for an early crop, is sown in 
early spring, as directed for beets. The best sorts are the 
varieties known as White and Purple-top Strap-leaved 
and Yellow Aberdeen. If for winter or fall use, sowing 
should be deferred until July or August. The Rata 
Baga or Swedes, being sown in July, and the earlier 
winter sorts, such as Yellow Globe or Flat Dutch, are 
sown in August, 



222 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS. 

In concluding the section of this book devoted to veg- 
etable growing, we will give a few general instructions 
that may have been omitted in the details already given. 
In sowing all kinds of seeds, more particularly those of 
small size, be careful, if the soil is dry, to "firm" or 
press down the surface of the bed or row after sowing, 
with a light roller or back of a spade, more especially if 
the weather is beginning to get warm. Crops are often 
lost through the failure of the seeds to germinate, for 
the simple reason that the soil is left loose about the tiny 
seeds, and the dry atmosphere penetrates to them, shriv- 
eling them up until all vitality is destroyed. Again for 
the same reason, when setting out plants of any kind, be 
certain that the soil is pressed close to the root. In our 
large plantings in market gardening, particularly in sum- 
mer, we make it a rule in dry weather to turn back on 
the row after planting it with the dibber or trowel, and 
press the earth firmly to each plant with the foot ; we 
have seen whole acres of celery and cabbage plants lost, 
solely through neglect of this precaution. Never work 
the soil while it is so wet as to clog, better wait a week 
for it to dry than to stir it if wet. In no work in which 
men are engaged is the adage, "A stitch in time saves 
nine," more applicable than to the work of the farm or 
garden. The instant that weeds appear, attack them 
with the hoe or rake ; do not wait for them to get a 
foot high, or a twelfth part of it, but break every inch of 
the surface crust of the ground just so soon as a germ of 
weed growth shows itself. And it will be better to do it 
even before any weeds show, for by using a small sharp 
steel rake, two or three days after your crop is planted 
or sown, you will kill the weeds just as their seeds are 
germinating. The newly developed germ of the strongest 
weed is at that time very tender. In my market garden 



GARDEN IMPLEMENTS. 



223 



operations I had one man whose almost exclusive duty 
it was to work in summer with the steel rake, and in a 
few days after a crop was planted, the surface was raked 
over, destroying the thousands of weeds just ready to ap- 
pear. Had we waited for the weeds to be seen, so that 
they were too large to be destroyed by the raking, four 
men could not hare done with the hoe the work accom- 
plished by this man with the rake. 



CHAPTER LI. 

GARDEN IMPLEMENTS. 

The tool-shed is an important and necessary append- 
age to a well kept garden. The following list includes such 
implements as are generally needed in private gardens : 

The Wheelbarrow, (Fig. 102). — The wheelbarrow is 




Fig. 102. — GAKDEN WHEELBARROW. 

an important vehicle in the garden, for the moving of 
soils, carrying manures, and for conveying the products 
of the vegetable garden to the house or place of storage, 
and numerous other purposes. It may be purchased of 
different sizes and styles, or can be "home-made" by 
those possessing a little mechanical skill. 



224 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



The Spade, (Fig. 103). — The uses of the spade in a 
garden are too obvious, and general, to need description. 
The best in use are Ames' cast-steel, which are light, 
strong, and durable, and work clean and bright. 

The Shovel, (Fig. 104).— The shovel is used for load- 
ing, and for mixing and spreading composts and short 
manures. They are made with long or short handles. 

The Digging Fork, (Fig. 105), or Forking Spade, is 
used instead of a spade to dig in 
manures, to loosen the earth about 
the roots of trees, or for taking up 
root crops ; being less liable to cut 
or injure them than the 
spade. It is often 






Fig. 103. Fig. 104. Fig. 105. Fig, 106. Fig. 107. Fig. 108. 

used instead of the spade, as by its aid the soil can be 
more readily broken and pulverized. 

The Manure Fork, (Fig. 106). — Is made of cast-steel 
with from four to six prongs, and is used for mixing, 



GARDEN IMPLEMENTS. 



225 



loading, and spreading manures, work which could not 
be efficiently done without it. 

The Common or Draw Hoe. — There are several 
patterns of draw hoes, but the one in general use is the 
common square hoe, as represented in fig. 107. Its 
uses in the garden are manifold, and it has frequently to 
do duty for several other implements. Its principle uses 
are to clean the surface of the ground from weeds, to 
open trenches for seeds, and to cover them. 

The Prong Hoe, (Fig. 108). — This is one of the most 
useful of all garden tools, and is far superior to the blade 
hoe for stirring and pulverizing the soil. It cannot, it 
is true, be used where weeds have been allowed to grow to 
any considerable hight, but then we claim that in all well 
regulated gardens, weeds should never be allowed to grow 
so large that they cannot be destroyed by the prong hoe. 

The Dutch or Push Hoe, (Fig. 109), is sometimes 
preferred to the preceding 
for cutting the weeds be- 
tween the rows of vege- 
tables, a work which can be 
done very quickly by its aid ; 





Fig. 109. 



Fig. 110. 



Fig. 111. Fig. 112. Fig. 113. 



it is not so generally useful as the draw hoe, but is better 
for the special purposes of destroying weeds. 

The Keel and Line, (Fig. 110), are necessary in 



226 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



every well regulated garden, enabling us to plant in 
straight and accurate rows. The line should be of strong 
hemp, and is wound upon the reel when not in use. 

The Pruning Saw, (Fig. Ill), is used for cutting off 
branches that are too large for the knife, for removing 
dead ones, etc. It can be had in various sizes, from 
fourteen to twenty inches in length. 

The Garden Trowel, (Fig. 112), is used for setting 
the smaller kinds of plants when transferred from pots to 
the open ground; for transplanting annuals and many 
other uses, it is a very necessary little implement. 

Prukixg akd Buddixg Knives, (Fig. 113), are ne- 
cessary to every gardener. They are of different sizes 
and shapes, for the various purposes of grafting, bud- 
ding, etc., and are made of the best steel. 

Grape Scissors. — These are slender-pointed scissors, 
used for thinning out the berries of foreign grapes when 




Fig. 114.— LAWN SCYTHE. 



they are about half grown, so that those that are left 
may have room to develop. This operation should never 
be neglected if large berries and well shaped bunches 
are desired. 

Flower Gatherers.— A very useful article ; the 
scissors cutting off, and at the same time holding fast 
the flower or fruit after it is cut, thus enabling one 
to reach much farther to cut flowers or fruits than if 
both hands had to be used. It is particularly useful in 
gathering rose-buds, as the stem can be cut off with but 
little danger from the thorns. . 

Lawk Scythes, (Fig. 114). — The lawn scythe is now 
but little used, the lawn mower taking its place, unless 



GARDEN IMPLEMENTS. 



227 




on hill-sides or among trees or shrubs, where the lawn 
mower cannot be worked. 

Lawk Mowers, (Pig. 115).— The great improvements 
made in Lawn 
Mowers during the 
past few years, and 
the low price at 
which they may 
now be obtained, 
have made their 
introduction com- 
mon to every gar- 
den. They are of 
many sizes, from 
the small machine 
that can be easily 
worked by a boy, Fig. 115.— utwn mower. 

and admirably adapted for city garden plots, to the 
large horse mowers, that may be daily seen in use in our 
larger parks. We have in use both the " Excelsior " and 
"Archimedean" Lawn Mowers, and have found them 
excellent in all respects. 

The Garden Boller, (Fig. 116), is indispensable to 
a well kept lawn, and should always 
follow after mowing, keeping the 
ground level and compact ; and after 
gravel walks have been raked over, the 
roller is necessary to smooth them down. 

The Wooden Lawn Eake, (Fig. 
117), is used for raking off lawns pre- 
vious to and after using the scythe or 
lawn mower, and for removing dead 
Fig. 116.— roller, leaves and other rubbish. 

The Eake, (Fig. 118), is used to level the surface of the 
ground after it has been spaded or hoed, and to prepare 




228 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



it for the reception of seeds or plants. Kakes are made 
of different sizes, for convenience in using between rows 

of plants, with from six to six- 
teen teeth. When a crop like 
cabbages is newly planted, we 
use the rake in preference to 
anything else, as raking oyer the 
surface before the weeds start 
to grow, destroys the germ of 
the weed, never allowing it to 
appear at all. 

The Grass Edging Kxife, 
(Fig. 119), is used for cutting 
the grass edgings of flower-beds, 
its rounded edge fitting into 
curved lines, for which the 
spade would be unsuitable. 




Fi£. 117 



Fig. 118. 



Ficr. 120. 




Fig. 121. 



The Sickle, (Fig. 120).— This is a most useful imple- 
ment for switching around and trimming off grass, in 



GARDES" IMPLEMENTS. 



229 



places where the scythe or lawn mower cannot be used, 
or where the place to be cut is small. 

Hedge Shears, (Fig. 121), are better fitted for clip- 
ping hedges than the Bill Hook, some- 
times used for the purpose, particularly 
in inexperienced hands. A line should 
be set at the hight to which the hedge 
is to be cut, as a guide to work by. 

Haxd-Pruxixg Shears, (Fig. 122). 
— These are very efficient and 
useful ; they will cut off a small 
branch as clean as if a knife 
had been used. They are in- 
dispensable in pruning small 
fruit-trees and vines, and for 
use in the grapery and garden. 

Pole or Tree Pruxotg 
Shears, (Fig. 123). — These 
shears are attached to a pole, 
and operated by means of a lever 
moved by a cord or a wire ; 
they enable one to cut off branch- 
es from trees, shrubbery, etc., 
that are beyond the reach of 
the ordinary pruning shears. 
Branches of an inch and a half in diameter may be easily 
cut off with this instrument. 

Garden Syringe, (Fig. 124).— The syringe is in 




Fig. 123. — TREE PETTIER. 




Fig. 124.— GABDEN SYRINGE. 



daily use in the greenhouse or conservatory, where syr- 
inging is necessary to keep the plants in a flourishing 



230 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



and healthy condition. They are made of several sizes 
and patterns, and fitted with roses for dispersing water 
with varying force. 
Watering-Pot. — A watering-pot is indispensable in 



the greenhouse or conservatory, 
where it is daily needed. It 
should be obtained of a suit- 
able size, from one to four gal- 
lons, with a rose for sprinkling, 
which may be detached at will. 

The Excelsior Pump, (Fig. 
125), is a very compact and use- 
ful implement for greenhouse 
and garden work. It is easily 
operated, and throws a continu- 
ous stream. It is very effective 
for watering shrubbery, gardens, 
or lawns, and may be used in an 
emergency as a fire extinguish- 
er and prevent a conflagration. 




The Sidney Seed-Sower, Fig. 135,-excelsiob pump. 
(Fig. 126). — This is a very useful implement, enabling 




Fig. 126. Fig. 128. 

the operator to sow seeds with perfect regularity, especi- 
ally in wet or windy weather. It will distribute large or 



GARDEN IMPLEMENTS. 



231 



small seeds with equal regularity, either broadcast or in 
drills or pots. 

The Excelsior Weeding Hook, (Pig. 127), is a very 

handy implement 
for removing weeds 
from among small 
and tender plants, 
and for stirring up 
the soil. It can be 
used between rows 
of seedlings, orna- 
mental plants, or 
remove weeds, without in- 




129. — SMALL GARDEN SET. 



wherever it is desirable to 
jury to the plants or soiling the hands. 

No yes' Hand Weeder, (Fig. 128), is a kind of minia- 
ture hand hoe, and is very convenient and useful for 
working between plants, 
dressing pots, and clean- 
ing away weeds, where a 
large hoe could not be 
used to good advantage. 

Ladies' and Chil- 
dren's' Garden Tools, 
(Fig. 129).— In all flower 
gardens there is a great 
deal of hand-work to be 
done. This lot of small 
implements consisting of 
a spade, fork, rake, and 
hoe, will be found very 
useful in working on 
small flower borders. 

Step Ladders, (Fig. 130). 




Fig. 130. — STEP LADDEE. 



The step-ladder is always 
useful in a garden, especially during the fruiting season. 
It is made in different sizes, varying from three to ten 



232 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 




Fig. 131.- 



-HA2STD GLASS. 



feet, and weighing from ten to thirty pounds ; it is made 
with flat steps, so that a person may stand upon them 
while working, and can be extended or contracted as re- 
quired. For use amongst large trees, in the orchard, a 
much greater length of ladder is required, and there are 
various forms of orchard ladders in use, but the step- 
ladder is sufficient for all ordinary garden uses. 

Haxd-Geasses. — The uses of these have been men- 
tioned under cauliflowers, cucumber, etc. Home-made 

hand-glasses, being simply a 
small frame covered with a pane 
of glass, are very useful, but as 
they exclude some light they 
are not equal to those made with 
glass all around. Hand-glasses 
with metal frames and glass 
sides and top, are made of differ- 
ent sizes and styles, cne of the 
more elaborate of which is shown in fig. 131. Though 
somewhat expensive, they will, if carefully used, last 
many years. 

Trellises, or supports for plants, are needed in the 
flower and vegetable garden not only for climbers, but 
for keeping plants which have weak 
stems within proper bounds. Trel- 
lises for pots may be purchased 
ready-made, as may those for climb- 
ing roses and such plants ; they are 
usually made of rattan upon a frame 
of light wooden stakes, and some 
are made entirely of wire. A per- 
son of a mechanical turn can 
readily make all that will be need- 
ed. A few engravings are given here as suggestions. 
Fig. 132 shows a useful support made with a barrel hoop 
an ] staves ; the same plan may be carried out with two 




132. 



GARDEN IXPLEiIE>'T3. 



233 



B * 

which 



or more hoops, and laths, if staves are too heavy. This 
will answer for tomatoes, raspberries, and various other 

plants. A more 
permanent to- 
mato trellis is 
shown in fi 
133, in 

slats are sup- 
ported by y 
s h ap e d up- 
rights. If put 
together with 
screws, such a 
trellis may be 
carefully put 
away in the fall 
A rustic trellis, like that 
the flower garden, or it 
climbers to divide the 




Fig. 133.— tomato trellis. 

and made to last several years, 
in fig. 134, is often useful in 
may serve 



covered with 



when 
flower from the 
vegetable gar- 
den. It is made 
of sticks of cedar J/ 
or other durable 
wood, set as 
shown in the 
•engraving, and 
tied where the 
bars cross one 
another with 
strong tarred 
twine. "With 
these examples 
as suggestions, one will find no difficulty in making more 
elaborate supports and with other materials. 




Fig. 134. — RUSTIC TRELLIS. 



234 



GARDENING FOE PLEASURE. 



MONTHLY CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 

Although I have endeavored throughout the foregoing pages to 
be particular in stating the season or date at which each gardening 
operation should be done, still it may save time to the novice, and 
be otherwise of advantage, to briefly suggest what work should be 
done each month. 

JANUARY. 

Greenhouse and Flower-Garden. — But little need now be 
done in either; in the greenhouse care must be exercised with the 
fires to protect against frost, as this is usually the coldest month 
of the year ; it is also that in which there is the least sunshine. 
But little ventilating need be done, but when it does become neces- 
sary to do it, caution must be used ; be careful to raise the ven- 
tilating sash only so high that the heated air from the green- 
house will be able to drive back the outer air to such an extent as 
not to chill the plants. For example, occasionally after a very 
cold night, where severe filing has been necessary to keep up the 
required temperature, say to 60°, it happens that the sun comes 
out bright during the following day, so that by noon or before, 
the temperature may be at 100° inside the greenhouse, though out- 
side it may be nearly at zero ; in such case the raising of the sashes 
an inch or two will rapidly lower the temperature of the green- 
house, so that an hour or so of such ventilating would be all that is 
required. If the greenhouse is heated by flue or even by hot 
water, examine nightly, that no combustible material is laid on the 
flue or thrown against the chimney of the boiler. As little fresh 
air can be given, insects are to be watched this month closely ; by 
the use of fire heat a dry atmosphere will be created in which the 
red spider luxuriates ; nothing answers so well for its destruction 
as copiously syringing the plants at night, and splashing the paths 
with water, as it cannot exist to an injurious extent in a moist at- 
mosphere. The Aphis, or "green fly," must also be destroyed, or 
it will soon cause great injury to the plants. Tobacco in almost 
any form is death to it ; it may be either used by burning the 
stems or dusted on as snuff, or syringed on in liquid form : for full 
directions see body of the work. Hyacinths and other bulbs that 



MONTHLY CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 



235 



have been kept in cellar or other dark, cool place, may now be 
brought into the light of the greenhouse, provided they have filled 
the pots with roots, if not well rooted, leave them where they are 
until they are so, or select such of them as are best, and leave the 
others until ready. In the outside flower-garden little can be done 
except that shrubs may be pruned, or new work, such as making 
walks or grading, if weather permits. 

Fruit-Garden. — Pruning, staking up, or mulching, can be 
done if the weather is such that the workman can stand out. No 
plant is injured by being pruned in cold weather, though the 
pruner may be. 

Vegetable Garden.— Nothing can be done this month in the 
northern states except to prepare manure, and get sashes, tools, 
etc., in working order, but in sections of the country where there 
is but little or no frost, the hardier kinds of seeds and plants may 
be sown and planted, such as asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, car- 
rot, leek, lettuce, onion, parsnip, peas, spinach, turnip, etc., etc. 
In any section where these seeds can be sown in the open ground, 
it is an indication that hot-beds may be begun for the sowing of 
such tender vegetables as tomatoes, egg and pepper plants, etc., 
though unless in the extreme southern states, hot-beds had better 
not be started before the first of February. 

FEBRUARY. 

Greenhouse and Flower- Garden. — The directions for Jan- 
uary will in the main apply to this month, except that now some 
of the hardier annuals may be sown, and also the propagation of 
plants by cuttings may be done rather better now than in January, 
for instructions in such matters, see chapter on Propagation. 

Fruit- Garden. — But little can be done in most of the northern 
states as yet, and in sections where there is no frost in the ground, 
it is likely to be too wet to work, but in many southern states this 
will be the best month for planting fruit-trees and plants of all 
kinds, particularly strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, pear and 
apple, while grape-vines will do quite a month later. One of the 
greatest wants in many parts of the south is reliable nurseries, 
where such things can be procured, and as all such plants are at 
this season frozen solid in nurseries at the north, orders for such 
things cannot usually be shipped before April ; still though some- 
thing may be lost by this circumstance, if proper attention is given 
to planting, watering, and shading, (when practicable), good re- 



236 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



suits may be obtained, as it is always better to take plants of any 
kind from a cold climate to a hot one, than from a hot to a cold. 

Vegetable Garden. — Horse manure, leaves from the woods, or 
refuse hops from the breweries, when they can be obtained, may 
be got together towards the latter part of the month and mixed 
and turned to get " sweetened" preparatory to forming hot-beds; 
for detailed instructions see article on hot-beds. Manure that is 
to be used for the crops should be turned and broken up as fine as 
possible, for it should be known that the more completely manure 
of any kind can be mixed with the soil, the better will be the crop, 
and of course if it is dug or plowed-in in large unbroken lumps, it 
cannot be properly commingled. 

MARCH. 

Greenhouse and Flower- Garden. — Brighter sunshine and 
longer days will now begin to show their effects by a rapid growth 
of plants in the greenhouse, and also in those of the parlor or 
window garden ; examine all plants that are growing vigorously 
and are healthy, and if the roots have struck to the sides of the 
pot and matted the " ball of earth, then they must be shifted into 
larger sized pots ; if this is long neglected the plants are certain to 
suffer in consequence ; for details of operations see chapter on 
Potting. The plants propagated last month may now need shift- 
ing also, and propagation should continue of all plants that are 
likely to be wanted. If propagation is put off later, most plants 
would not be large enough if needed for bedding purposes in the 
flower-garden in summer. The hardier kinds of annuals may now 
be sown ; it is best done in boxes, as recommended elsewhere. 
Lawns may now be raked off and top-dressed with short manure 
or rich garden earth where manure is not obtainable, and on light 
soils flower-beds may be dug up so as to forward the work prepar- 
atory to the coming of the busy season. 

Fruit-Garden.— In light, diy soils planting may be safely done 
in many sections, but we again caution the inexperienced not to 
get impatient and begin to plant before the ground is dry ; it is 
bad to do so even in light sandy soils, but in stiff and clayey ones 
it will be utter destruction. Again at this season, although a tree 
or plant will receive no inj ury when its roots are in the soil, should 
a frost come after planting, yet that same amount of freezing 
would greatly injure the plant if the roots were uncovered and ex- 
posed. " Thousands of trees and plants fail every year from this 



MONTHLY CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 237 



cause ; they are exposed for sale in our markets with no protec- 
tion to the roots, and even the experienced purchaser rarely has 
sufficient knowledge to be certain whether the roots of a tree have 
been injured by being frozen or dried up by the cold winds of 
March. It is always best when it can be done, to purchase direct 
from the nearest reliable nurserymen ; they well know the import- 
ance of having the roots properly protected, while in two cases out 
of three the market huckster neither knows nor cares. 

Vegetable Garden.— This is a busy month. Hot-beds must 
now be all started, and all the seeds of the hardier vegetables may 
be sown in locations where the frost is out and the ground dry, 
the list given for southern states in January may now be used at 
the north, while for most of the southern states the tender kinds 
of vegetables may now be sown and planted, such as egg-plant, 
okra, melon, sweet potatoes, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. 

APRIL. 

Greenhouse and Flower-Garden. — Plants whether grown 
in greenhouse or in windows, will require increased ventilation 
and water this month, and as they will now be growing rapidly, 
due attention must be paid to shifting into larger pots when neces- 
sary, and also increase the space if possible by putting the hardier 
sorts out in frames. If plants are crowded at this season in the 
greenhouse, they will grow spindling and weak. It is better to 
throw away the common or coarser plants if there is not room for 
the finer sorts to develop properly. Towards the end of the month 
it may be necessary to partially shade the glass of the greenhouse ; 
this may be either done by sheeting hung on rollers from the top, 
or more simply and cheaply by making a very thin whitewash of 
lime ; this may be spattered over the glass very lightly at first, just 
to mark the glass with white spots as thick as if a slight shower 
should leave the marks of its drops. The wash is to be spattered 
on thicker every week or two, as the season advances. The plant- 
ing of all kinds of hardy herbaceous plants and shrubs may now 
be done in the flower-garden. Bulbs and all tender plants that 
have been covered for protection in winter may now be stripped, 
and the beds slightly forked and raked. Sow tender annual flower 
seeds in boxes. 

Fruit-Garden. — Strawberries that have been covered up by 
straw or leaves, should now be relieved around the plant, only 
leaving the covering between the plants ; see chapter on Strawber- 



238 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



ries. Raspberries, grape-vines, etc., that have been laid down may 
now be uncovered and tied up to stakes or trellises, and all new 
plantations of these and other fruits should now be made. 

Vegetable Garden. — The covering of asparagus, rhubarb, 
spinach, etc., should now be removed, and the beds hoed or dug 
lightly. The hardier sorts of vegetable seeds and plants, such as 
beets, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, lettuce, onions, parsley, parsnip, 
peas, potatoes, radishes, spinach, turnip, etc., should all be sown 
or planted by the middle of the month, if the soil is dry and 
warm, and in all cases where practicable before the end of the 
month, for if these varieties of vegetables are delayed until the hot 
weather in May, they will not be so early, and in most cases will 
not produce so fine a crop. It is quite a common practice with 
many amateurs to delay garden operations of all kinds until May, 
but all the hardier sorts of vegetables are likely to be later and 
inferior in consequence. Any one expecting to get early cabbage, 
lettuce, or radishes, if planting or sowing is delayed until the time 
of planting tomato and egg plants in May, is certain to be disap- 
pointed. 

MAY. 

Greenhouse and Flower Garden. — The majority of plants 
in the greenhouse or window garden should now be in their finest 
bloom. Firing may now be entirely dispensed with in the green- 
house, though care must yet be exercised in ventilating in the first 
part of the month, as we still have cold winds in this section. 
By the end of the month all of the plants that are wanted for the 
summer decoration of the flower borders may be planted out. In 
doing so, when the ball of earth has been completely matted with 
roots, it will be better to bruise it slightly between the hands, so 
that the water will pass freely through the " ball," as it often hap- 
pens that it is so hard and dry as to prevent the water from pene- 
trating it, and the growth is impeded in consequence. Water co- 
piously after planting if the weather is dry. When the greenhouse 
is not to be used during the summer months, camellias, azaleas, and 
plants of that character should be set out-doors under partial 
shade, but most of the other plants usually kept in the greenhouse 
or window garden in winter, may be set in the open border, where 
the pots should be plunged to the rim in ashes or sand, keeping 
them slightly apart from each other, to prevent crowding. Where 
there are indications that the pot has become filled with roots, the 
plant should be shifted into a size larger just as it is done inside 



MONTHLY CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 239 



the greenhouse ; as the plants make growth, they with few excep- 
tions should be pinched back to cause a stout and branching 
form. Lawns should now be mown and edgings trimmed 
nicely, and all flower-beds hoed and raked, for if weeds are not 
kept down as they first appear, treble the labor will be required to 
eradicate them next month. Annuals that have been sown in the 
greenhouse or hot-bed may now be planted out, and seeds of such 
sorts as Mignonette, Sweet Alyssum, Phlox Drummondii, Portu- 
laca, etc., etc., may be sown in the borders. 

Fruit-Garden. — Where it has not been convenient before, most 
of the smaller fruits may yet be planted the first part of the month. 
Ply the hoe vigorously to keep down weeds. If any of the nu- 
merous varieties of caterpillars, slugs, or worms make their appear- 
ance on the young shoots of vines or trees, a free application of 
tobacco dust will dislodge most of them. It is best to use it as a 
preventive, for if they once get a foothold, the crop may be ruined. 

Vegetable Garden. — Thin out all crops sown last month, 
that are now large enough, and hoe deeply all planted crops, such 
as cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, etc. Plant out all tender vegeta- 
bles, viz : tomatoes, egg and pepper plants, sweet potatoes, etc. 
Plant seeds of lima beans, corn, melons, okra, cucumbers, etc., and 
succession crops of peas, spinach, lettuce, beans, etc. 

JUNE. 

Greeehouse and Flower-Garden. — The greenhouse may 
now be used for hot-house or tropical plants, if such are de- 
sired during the summer months. It should now be well shaded 
and fine specimens of fancy caladiums, dracaenas, palms, ferns, 
and such plants as are grown for their beauty of foliage will make 
it very attractive. Hyacinths, Tulips, and other spring bulbs may 
now be dug up, dried, and placed away for next fall's planting, 
and their places filled with such plants as Coleus, Achyranthes, 
and the various " white-leaved plants " that are suited for late bed- 
ding. Lawns will now require to be mowed weekly in all well- 
kept places. It is as much an indication of slovenliness to see a 
door-yard that has any pretensions to be called a lawn, with the 
grass uncut, as it would be to see a dust begrimed carpet in the 
parlor. 

Fruit-Garden. — If strawberries have not been mulched with 
hay or straw in winter, the cut grass from the lawn is a convenient 
thing to place between the rows to keep the fruit from getting 



240 



GARDEKIKG FOR PLEASURE. 



sanded by dashing rains. Nearly all the small fruits, such as 
gooseberries, raspberries, etc., etc., are much improved by having 
a mulching of some sort placed around the roots, which should be 
done this month. 

Vegetable Garden. — This is usually the busiest month in the 
garden, crops mature and have to be gathered, and while doing 
so, weeds are apt to steal a march on you, and may destroy entirely 
some of your hard work of former months, unless you attack them 
in their embryo stage, that is just when breaking through the soil. 
A man will hoe and rake over six times the surface of soil when 
the weeds are in this stage that he would if weeds were six inches 
high, and in this matter more than anything else I know of in 
gardening, does a " stitch in time save nine." Beans, peas, beets, 
corn, cucumbers, lettuce, etc. , may yet be sown for succession 
crops, and late plantings of Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes will 
yet do well on suitable soils. Tomatoes should be tied up to trel- 
lises or stakes, if fine flavored and handsome fruit is desired. 

JULY. 

Greenhouse and Flower-Garden. — But little may be said of 
the greenhouse this month. Watering, ventilating, and fumigat- 
ing, (or the use of tobacco in other forms for destruction of aphis), 
must be attended to. Keep the atmosphere of the greenhouse 
moist. The plants from the greenhouse that may have been 
plunged out-doors, must be watched when they require repotting, 
and where the roots have run through the pots, they should also 
be occasionally turned round, to break them off, for if this is 
not done now, it would seriously injure the plant in fall when 
the roots have run through the pot and deep into the soil, as they 
often do. Plants such as dahlias, roses, gladioluses, as well as 
many herbaceous perennial and annual plants, will now require 
staking ; be careful to proportion the size of the stake to that of 
the plant, and do not tie it too tightly. Stakes painted green look 
best, and the square are nearly as good as the round ones, and 
much cheaper. Carnations and other plants that are throwing up 
flower-stems, if wanted to flower in winter, should be cut back. 

Fruit- Garden. — If there are any signs of mildew on the grape- 
vine leaves, dust them over with dry sulphur, choosing a still, 
warm day. The fruit will now be gathered from the strawberry 
vines, and if new beds are to be formed, the system recommended 
of layering the plants in small pots is the best ; see Strawberries. 



MONTHLY CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 241 



Where apples, pears, peaches, etc. , have set fruit thickly, thin out 
one-half or two-thirds of the young fruit, as by doing so you will 
get at least an equal weight and much finer fruit. The same is 
true of grape-vines and all other fruits that have set thickly; 
where thinning out is practicable, it will always be beneficial to 
practice it. 

Vegetable Garden. — Plants of cabbages, cauliflowers, celery, 
and all similar varieties of vegetables wanted for fall or winter use 
are best planted this month, though in some sections they will do 
if left until next. See directions given under these separate heads. 
Sweet corn, beans, cucumbers and lettuce may yet be planted for 
late crops, and in some sections ruta-baga turnips for the main 
winter crop. Tomatoes should be kept tied up to stakes or trel- 
lises, and sweet potatoes must be hoed so as to prevent the vines 
rooting at the joints. 

AUGUST. 

Greenhouse and Flower-Garden. — The instructions for 
July apply with but little variation in these departments this 
month. 

Fruit-Garden.— Strawberries that were planted in spring, and 
also those that have fruited will now be making " runners " or 
young plants freely. All runners should be kept cut off close to 
the old plant, so that the full force of the root is expended in ma- 
turing the " crowns " or fruit buds of the next season's crop. If 
plants are wanted for fresh plantations, about the required number 
can be allowed to run, but should be layered in pots, as recom- 
mended under Strawberries. Cut away the old stems of raspber- 
ries and blackberries that have borne their fruit, and thin out the 
young shoots to three or four canes to each hill or plant, if tied to 
stakes and topped when 4 or 5 feet high, they will make stronger 
canes for fruiting next year. 

Vegetable Garden. — Planted crops, such as cabbage, cauli- 
flower, and celery, should be hoed deeply. We do not recom- 
mend the earthing up of celery this month. Onions will in many 
sections now be ready for harvesting ; this condition will be 
known by the tops becoming yellow and falling down ; they are 
best dried by placing them in some dry shed in thin layers. For 
sweet potatoes, see directions of last month. Spinach may be 
sown for early fall use, but it is yet too early to sow for the winter 
crop. Eed-top, White Globe, and Yellow Aberdeen turnips should 
11 



242 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



now be sown. Ruta-baga turnips sown last month will need 
thinning. 

SEPTEMBER. 

Greenhouse and Flower- Garden.— Towards the end of the 
month in many sections, the more tender plants will require to be 
put in the greenhouse, or housed in some way, but be careful to 
keep them as cool as possible during the day ; they would be bet- 
ter outside yet if it was safe to risk them. Cuttings of all bedding 
plants may now be made freely, if wanted for next season, as the 
young cuttings rooted in fall make % better plants for next spring's 
use than the old plants. This is true of what is known as bedding 
plants, such as geraniums, fuchsias, verbenas, heliotropes, etc., etc. 
But with roses and other plants of a woody nature, the old plants 
are usually the best. Holland bulbs, such as hyacinths, tulips, 
etc., etc., and most of the varieties of lilies may be planted this 
month ; see detailed instructions under Holland Bulbs. Violets 
that are wanted for winter will now be growing freely, and the 
runners should be trimmed off as recommended for strawberries 
last month. Seeds of pansies, daisies, mignonette, sweet alyssum, 
candytuft, etc., should now be sown in the early part of tbe month. 

Fruit-Garden. — New plantations of strawberry plants may 
now be made from the runners that have been layered in pots ; the 
sooner in the month they are planted, the stronger they will be for 
next season ; these plants will soon make runners that must be 
trimmed off to throw the strength into the crowns for next season's 
fruiting. Attend to raspberries and blackberries as advised last 
month,- if not then done. 

Vegetable Garden.— Seeds of cabbage, cauliflower, and let- 
tuce to raise plants to be placed in cold frames, should be sown in 
this latitude from the 10th to the 20th of this month ; the main 
crop of spinach or sprouts that is wanted for winter or spring use, 
should be sown about same dates. Celery may now have the 
earth drawn to it with the hoe preparatory to earthing-up by the 
spade. Onions that were not dried and harvested last month, 
must be done this, or it will be too late. The early or flat sorts of 
turnips may yet be sown the first week of this month. 

OCTOBER. 

Greenhouse and Flower-Garden. — In almost all northern 
localities, all tender plants yet outside should be got under cover 



MONTHLY CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 243 

the early part of this moDth. Avoid the use of fire heat as 
long as possible ; unless the nights become cold enough to chill the 
plants inside of the house, they are better without fire heat. When 
there is indication that the night is likely to be cold, let down the 
sashes that have been raised for ventilation, early in the afternoon, 
and thus shut up the heated air until next day. If there is a cold 
frame or pit at hand, the hardier sorts of plants, such as roses, car- 
nations, camellias, azaleas, etc., will do better if placed there until 
middle of November, than in the ordinary greenhouse. Treated 
in this manner they make strong, healthy roots, that enable them 
to withstand the forcing process better when placed in the green- 
house. Look out for and destroy insects ; see methods already 
given. The planting of fall bulbs of all kinds may continue dur- 
ing this month. Dahlias, tuberoses, gladiolus, cannas, caladiums, 
tigridias, and all tender bulbs or tubers that are planted in spring, 
should be taken up before the end of the month, dried and stowed 
away in some place free from frost during winter. 

Fruit-Garden.— Strawberries that have been layered in pots 
may yet be planted this month ; great care should be taken to trim 
off runners from early plantings. All kinds of fruit-trees and shrubs 
may be set out ; if planting is deferred to the last of the month, 
the grouud around the roots should be mulched to the thickness of 
three or four inches, with leaves, straw, or rough manure, as a 
protection to the roots against the frost. 

Vegetable Garden. — This is one of the busiest fall months in 
the kitchen garden, celery will now be in full growth, and will re- 
quire close attention to earthing-up, and during the last part of the 
month, the first lot may be stored away in trenches for winter ; 
see Celery ; beets, carrots, parsnips, squash, sweet potatoes, and all 
other roots not designed to be left in the ground during winter, 
should be dug by the end of the month. The cabbage, cauliflower, 
and lettuce plants from the seed sown about the middle of last 
month, should now be pricked out in cold frames. If lettuce is 
wanted for winter use, it may be now planted in the greenhouse, 
and will be ready for use by Christmas. Rhubarb and asparagus, 
if wanted for use in winter, should be taken up in large clumps 
and stowed away in pit, frame, shed, or cellar for a month or two, 
when it may be taken into the greenhouse and packed closely to- 
gether under the stage, and will be fit for use from January to 
March, according to the temperature of the house. 



244 



GARDEKIHG EOR PLEASURE. 



NOVEMBER. 

Greenhouse and Flower-Garden. — All plants should now 
be in-doors ; a sharp look-out must be kept for cold snaps. 
These often come very unexpectedly in November, and as many 
plants are injured by frost in this as there are in the colder 
months, when the enemy is more closely watched for. When fire 
heat is freely used, be careful to keep up the proper supply of 
moisture by syringing, sprinkling the paths, etc. In the flower- 
garden nothing is now to be done except to clean off dead stalks 
and straw up tender roses, vines, etc., and wherever there is time, 
to. dig up and rake the borders, as it will greatly facilitate 
spring work. All beds where hyacinths or other fall bulbs have 
been planted, had better be covered with rough litter or leaves 
to the depth of two or three inches. If short, thoroughly de- 
cayed manure can be spared, a good sprinkling spread over the 
lawn will help it to a finer growth in spring. 

Fruit-Garden. — In cold sections the hay or straw mulching 
recommended in the chapter on the Strawberry may be put on 
during the last of this month. Grape-vines and fruit-trees gener- 
ally should be pruned, and if wood of the vine is wanted for cut- 
tings, or cions of fruit-trees for grafts, they should be tied in small 
neat bunches and buried in the ground until spring. 

Vegetable Garden. — All celery that is to be stored for 
winter use, should be put away before the end of the month in all 
places north of Richmond, Va. ; south of that it may be left in 
most places in the rows where grown if covered up. Directions 
for storing celery for winter are given under Celery. The 
stalks of asparagus beds should be cut over, and as asparagus some- 
times becomes a weed, it is better to burn the stems if there are 
berries on them. Spread a heavy dressing of rough manure three 
or four inches thick on the beds. All roots that are yet in the 
ground and not designed to be left there all winter, must be dug 
up in this latitude before the middle of the month, or they may be 
frozen in until spring ; onions, spinach, sprouts, cabbage, or lettuce 
plants that are outside should be covered with two or three inches 
of leaves, salt hay, or straw, to protect during winter. Cabbages 
that have headed may be usually preserved against injury by frost 
until the middle of next month, by simply pulling them up and 
packing them close together in a dry spot in the open field with 
the heads down, and roots up ; on the approach of cold weather in 
December, they should be covered up with leaves as high as the tops 



MONTHLY CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 245 



of the roots, or if the soil is light, it may be thrown over them if 
leaves are not convenient ; cabbages so packed will keep until 
March, if the covering has not leen put on too early. Whenever 
it is practicable, all empty ground should be dug or plowed this 
month, trenching or subsoiling whenever time will permit. All 
such operations when performed in the fall, not only benefit the 
soil, but greatly facilitate work at the hurried season in the spring. 
The cold frames where cabbage, lettuce, or cauliflower plants have 
been planted will now require regular ventilation by lifting up the 
sashes in warm days, and on the approach of very cold weather, 
straw mats or shutters would be a great protection to the plants ; 
for the cauliflower this protection is absolutely necessary here. 

DECEMBER. 

Greenhouse and Flower-Garden. — We are now fairly into 
winter, and close attention must be given to protecting all 
tender plants. It is one of the commonest complaints, especially 
from ladies, that their plants " looked so nice until one cold night 
in December " defeated the whole care of the year by killing or 
wounding hundreds of the cherished favorites of the greenhouse 
or window garden. There is no rule but vigilance, and as extra 
strong fires will be kept up, look out again nightly for all combus- 
tible matter near the flue or chimney. If you find the thermom- 
eter in the greenhouse or parlor where your plants are kept, falling 
down to 34 or 35 degrees, the chances are that there will be frost 
in the house ; the best protection in such cases is either to set the 
plants under the benches or on the walk if in the greenhouse, or 
move them from the cold point if in the parlor; if the plants 
are low and uniform in hight, covering them with paper or 
sheeting will usually save them from injury even if the thermom- 
eter falls to 26 or 28 degrees. Another plan is to dash water on 
the pipes or flue in the greenhouse on cold nights, the steam arises 
to the glass, freezes there, and stops up all crevices. All mulching, 
strawing up, or other modes of protecting against frost in use in 
the flower-garden, must be finished this month. 

Fruit-Garden— Grape-vines, raspberries, etc., in sections where 
protection from severe frost is of advantage, should be attended 
to this month, by laying them down as near the ground as possi- 
ble, and covering them with rough litter or leaves, or with a few 
inches of soil. 

Vegetable Garden.— The final covering of celery in trenches, 



246 



GAEDE^TI^G FOR PLEASURE. 



or roots in pits ; the spinach crop in ground, or any other article 
in need of protection, must have it done before the end of this 
month. Manure and compost heaps should now be forwarded as 
rapidly as possible, and turned and mixed so as to be in proper 
condition for spring. Snow that accumulates on cold frames or 
other glass structures, should be removed, particularly if the soil 
that the glass covers was not frozen before the snow fell ; if frozen, 
it may remain on the sashes longer, for the plants if frozen are, of 
course dormant, and would not be injured by being deprived of 
light for eight or ten days. 



INDEX. 



Angle Worm 119 

Annual Flowers 112 

Annual Flowers, List of 112 

Ants 118 

Aphis, Destroying 64 

Aphis, Ground or Blue 117 

Apple 170 

Apple, Varieties of 171 

Apricot 170 

Apricot, Varieties of 170 

Artichoke, Globe 180 

Artichoke, Jerusalem 181 

Asparagus 178 

Basket Balloon Frame 73 

Basket, Wire 73 

Baskets, Hanging 72 

Bean, Bush 181 

Bean, Lima 182 

Bean, Pole. 182 

Bedding, " Carpet Style "of, 31 

Beet 183 

Blackberry 161 

Blackberry, Varieties of.. 162 

Bone-Dust 22 

Borecole or Kale 184 

Boxes for Seeds % 40 

Broccoli 185 

Brussels Sprouts 186 

Budding 47-56 

Bulbs, Fall or Holland 36 

Bulbs in Moss 37 

Bulbs in Pots 36-37 

Bulbs, Tropical 58 

Cabbage 189 

Caladiums, Growing 58 

Camellias, Grafting 52-55 

Camellias, Propagating 44 

Carrot 190 

Cauliflower 187 I 

Celeriac 195 

Celery 191 



Cellar and Greenhouse Combined. . 99 
Centaureas. Propagating 39 



Chard, Swiss 217 

Cherry 165 

Cherry, Varieties of 166 

Chives 196 

Climbers, List of Hardy 106 

Cordon Training of Pear Trees. . . . 172 

Corn 196 

Corn Salad... 196 

Cress 196 

Cress, Indian 207 

Cress, Water 196 

Crocuses, Planting 36 

Cucumber 197 

Currants 162 

Currants, Varieties of 163 

Cuttings, Propagating Plants by... 43 

Cuttings, Proper Condition of 43 

Cyclamen, Propagating 39 

Designs for Gardens. 27 

Double Flue 94 

Drain, Board 12 

Drain for Road-bed 16 

Drain, Rubble 11 

Drain Tile 11 

Driveway 15 

Drive, Width of 15 

Eggplant 198 

Endive 199 

Ferneries 83 

Fertilizers, Adulteration of 20 

Fertilizers, Concentrated 18 

Fertilizers, Cost of 19 

Fertilizers, Special 21 

Figs 164 

Figs, Varieties of 165 

Flowers, Annual 60 

Flowers for Shady Spots 114 

Flowers, Law of Color in 128 

Flower-Bed. Ornamental 35 

Flower-Bed. Scroll-Pattern for 34 

Flower-Beds. Carpet Style of 33 

Flower-Beds. Designs for 31 

Flower-Stands 81 



248 



GARDEKIKG FOR PLEASURE. 



Flue, Double 94 

Flue, Heating by 93 

Garden, Drainage of. 10 

Garden, Preparation of Ground for. 13 

Garden, Protection by Hedges 10 

Garden, Soil and Location 9 

Garden, Vegetable 177 

Garden Walks 14 

Gardens, Designs for 25 

Gardening, Cottage 175 

Gardening, Parlor 77 

Gardening, Window 75 

Garlic ...200 

Glasses for Hyacinths 38 

Glazing 145 

Gooseberry 163 

Gooseberry, Varieties of 164 

Graft, Side 54 

Graft, Whip 54 

Grafting 47-53 

Grafting-Wax 55 

Grape Cuttings 142. 

Grapes, Hardy 138 

Grapes, Pruning and Training 139 

Grapes, Varieties of 142 

Grapery 90 

Grapery, Cold 144 

Grapery, Hot-House 150 

Grapery, Lean-to 146 

Grasses, Ornamental Ill 

Grass- Seed for Lawn 24 

Grass-Seed, Mixing Oats with 25 



Greenhouse and Cellar Combined 101 
Greenhouse Attached to Dwellings. 87 



Greenhouse, Detached 90 

Greenhouse Plants, List of 79 

4 •' Green Fly," Killing 64 

Guano, How to Use 18 

Guano. Mixing with Earth 18 

Guano, Peruvian 22 

Guano. Quantity to Apply — . — 19 

Hanging-Baskets. Filling 74 

" Hay-Seed " for Lawn 24 

Heating by Double Flues 94 

Heating by Hot Water 95 

Hedges for Protecting Gardens — 10 

Herbaceous Perennials, Hardy 107 

Herbaceous Perennials, Hardy, List 

of 109 

Herbs, Sweet ..199 

Horseradish 200 

Hot-Beds 102 

Hot-Beds, Ventilating .103 



Hot-House or Forcing Grapery 150 

Hot-House Plants, List of 80 

House, Approach to 15 

H} r acinths in Glasses 38 

Hyacinths, Planting 36 

Implements, Garden 223 

Digging Fork 224 

Draw Hoe 225 

Excelsior Pump 230 

Excelsior Weeding-Hook 231 

Flower Gatherers 226 

Garden Roller.. 227 

Garden Syringe 229 

Garden Trowel 226 

Grape Scissors 226 

Grass Edging Knife 228 

Hand-Glasses 231 

Hand-Pruning Shears 229 

Hedge Shears 229 

Ladies Garden Tools. 231 

Lawn Mowers. . . c .227 

Lawn Scythes 226 

Manure Fork 224 

Noyes' Hand-Weeder 231 

Pole-Pruning Shears 229 

Prong Hoe 225 

Pruning and Budding Knives226 

Pruning Saw 226 

Push Hoe 225 

Rake 227 

Reel and Line 225 

Shovel 224 

Sickle 228 

Sidney Seed-Sower 230 

Spade.. 224 

Step-Ladders 231 

Trellises 232 

Watering-Pot 230 

Wheelbarrow... 223 

Wooden Lawn Rake 227 

Insects 115 

Angle Worm 119 

Ants 118 

Brown and White Scale 119 

Green Fly 116 

Ground or Blue Aphis 117 

Mealy Bug v 65, 118 

Red Spider' 118 

Rose Bug 116 

Rose Slug 116 

Thrips 119 

Instructions, General 222 

Jardinieres 82 



INDEX. 



249 



Kohlrabi 901 

Lath Screens 126 

Lawn ..22 

Lawn, Grass-Seed for 24 

Lawn, Sodding a 23 

Lawns, Planting 30 

Lawn -Mowers 23 

Layering, Propagation by 46 

Leek 201 

Lettuce 202 

Lily' of the Valley, Forcing 84 

Location of Garden 9 

Manures 16 

Martynia 202 

Mealy Bug ... 65 

Mealy Bug, Destroying 65 

Melon, Musk 202 

Melon, Water 203 

Mildew. 120 

Mulching 122 

Mushrooms 204 

Mustard 204 

Narcissuses, Planting 36 

Nasturtium 207 

Nectarines 169 

Nectarines, Varieties of 169 

Oats with Grass Seed 25 

Okra 20T 

Onions 208 

Parsley 208 

Parsnips 209 

Pea 209 

Peach 168 

Peach, Varieties of 168 

Pears . 171 

Pears. Varieties of 172 

Pear-Trees, Cordon-Trained 172 

Pepper 211 

Pepper Grass 196 

Pit, Sunken 98 

Pits without Artificial Heat 98 

Plant Protector, Bryants 1 197 

Plants for Summer Decoration 69 

Plants for Wardian Cases 83 

Plants, Frozen 121 

Plants, Growing from Cuttings 42 

Plants, Growing from Seeds 39 

Plants, Hot-House 63 

Plants in Eooms 124 

Plants, Potting 60 

Plants, Potting from the Open 

Ground 78 

Plants, Temperature for. 80 



Plants, Unhealthy 67 

Plants, Winter Flowering 62 

Planting in Circles 31-33 

Planting Flower-Beds 30 

Plant-Stand, Folding. 81 

Plum. 166 

Plum, Varieties of 167 

Potato 211 

Potato, Sweet 219 

Pots, Draining 67 

Pots for Plants 61 

Pots for Plants, Size of 66 

Pots, <; Plunging' ' 79 

Potting Plants 60 

Propagation by Layering 46 

Propagating, " Saucer System " of. 44 

Propagating Woody Plants 44 

Propagating by Cuttings 43 

Propagating by Seeds 39 

Pruning for Shape 137 

Pruning Grape-vines 141 

Pruning Hot-House Grapes 148 

Pruning, Spur 140 

Pumpkin 211 

Quince 165 

Quince, Varieties of 165 

Radish 212 

Raspberry ....158 

Raspberry, Varieties of 160 

Raspberries, Black Cap 161 

Raspberries, Black Caps, Varieties 

of 161 

Red Spider 65 

Re-potting Plants 61 

Rhubarb 212 

Road Drain 16 

Rose Bug 116 

Rose Slug 116 

Roses, Propagating 44 

Salsify 213 

Salsify, Black 214 

Saucers for Pots 81 

Scale, Brown and White 119 

Scorzonera 214 

Screens for Plants 126 

Sea Kale 215 

Seeds, Tropical 59 

Seeds, Annual 112 

Seeds, Propagation of Plants from. 39 

Seedlings, Damping off 41 

Shading 125 

Shallots 215 

Shoots, u Blind" 44 



250 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



Shrubs, Lists of 104 

Smoke-flue 93 

Soil for Seeds 40 

Soil, Potting 60 

Spinach 216 

Spinach, New Zealand. 217 

Spinach, Substitutes for 217 

Squash..., 218 

Strawberry, Forcing 157 

Strawberry, Growing 153 

Strawberry Runners in Pots 154 

Strawberry, Varieties of, 157 

Sweet Potato 219 

Thrips 119 

Tobacco- Water for Plants 64 

Tomato 221 

Tomato Seeds, Starting 59 

Trees, List of Evergreen 106 

Trees, Pruning Fruit 133 

Tulips, Planting 36 



| Turnips... 221 

! Walks, Garden 14 

Wardian Cases 82 

Wash for Glass 127 

Watering Potted Plants 62 

Window Box 67 

Worm, Angle 119 

Monthly Calendar of Operations. . .234 

January 234 

February — 235 

March 236 

April 237 

May 238 

June 239 

July 240 

August 241 

September 242 

October 242 

November 244 

December 245 



GARDENING FOR PROFIT: 

A GUIDE TO THE SUCCESSFUL CULTIVATION OF THE 

MARKET AND FAMILY GARDEN 

Br Peter Henderson, 

FINELY ILLUSTRATED. 

This work has had a constant and remarkable sale ever since it was issued, and 
the later enlarged and revised edition is as well received as was the first. It was 
the first work on Market Gardening ever published in this country. Its author is 
well known as a market gardener of* many years 1 successful experience. In this 
work he has recorded this experience, and given without reservation, the methods 
necessary to the profitable culture of the 

zvr.vmsiEjr garden. 

It is a work for which there was an urgent demand before its issue, and one 
which commends itself, not only to those who grow vegetables for sale, but to the' 
cultivator of the 

FA3III^Y GARDEN, 

to whom it presents methods quite different from the old ones generally practiced. 
It is an original and purely American work, and not made up as books on gar- 
dening too often are, by quotations from foreign authors. 

Every thing is made perfectly plain, and the subject treated in all its details, 
from the selection of the soil to preparing the products for market. 

CONTENTS. 

Men fitted for the Business of Gardening, 

The Amount of Capital Required, and 

"Working Force per Acre. 

Profits of Market Gardening. 

Location, Situation, and Laying Out, 

Soils, Drainage, and Preparation, 

Manures, Implements. 

Uses and Management of Cold Frames. 

Formation and Management of Hot-beds, 

Forcing Pits or Greenhouses. 

Seeds and Seed Raising. 

How, When, and Where to Sow Seeds, . 

Transplanting Insects. 

Packing of Vegetables for Shipping. 

Preservation of Vegetables in Winter, 

Vegetables, their Varieties and Cultivation, 

In the last chapter, the most valuable kinds are described, and the culture 
proper to each is given in detail. 

Sent post-paid, price $3.50. 



ORANGE JTJDD COMPANY, 245 Broadway, New- York. 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE; 

A Guide to the Successful Propagation and Cultivation 

FLORISTS' PLANTS. 

Br PETER HENDERSON, Bergen City, N. J., 

AUTHOR 07 " GARDENING FOB PROFIT." 



Mr. Henderson is known as the largest Commercial Florist 
m the country. In the present work he gives a full account of his 
modes of propagation and cultivation. It is adapted to the wantf 
of the amateur, as well as the professional grower. 

The scope of the work may be judged from the following 

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Aspeot and Soil. 

Laying out Lawn and Flow- 
er Gardens. 

Designs for Flower Gardens, 

Planting of Flower Beds. 

Soils for Potting. 

Temperature and Moisture. 

The Potting of Plants. 

Cold Frames— Winter Pro- 
tection. 

Construction of Hot-Beds. 

Greenhouse Structures. 

Modes of Heating. 

Propagation by Seeds. 

Propagation by Cuttings. 

Propagation of Lilies. 

Culture of the Rose. 

Culture of the Verbena. 

Culture of the Tuberose 



Orchid Culture. 
Holland Bulbs, 
Cape Bulbs. 

Winter-Flowering Plants. 
Construction of Bouquets. 
Hanging Baskets. 
Window Gardening. 
Rock-Work. 
Insects. 

Nature's Law of Colors. 
Packing Plants,, 
Plants by Mail. 
Profits of Floriculture, 
Soft- Wooded Plants. 
Annuals. 

Hardy Herbaceous Plants. 
Greenhouse Plants. 
Diary of Operations for eacfe 
Day of the Year. 



Beautifully Illustrated. Sent post-paid. Price, $1.50. 

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 

245 Broadway, New- York. 



709 f. 



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